THE parents of Rachel Whitear were yesterday considering legal action in the wake of a damning report on the investigation into her death.
An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation, carried out by Wiltshire Police, found a "general organisational failure" but added that individual officers did not breach the Police Code of Conduct.
The 21-year-old shop assistan
t was found dead on the floor of her bedsit with a syringe in her hand in May 2000. Her parents, Pauline and Mick Holcroft, said they may also mount legal action against the coroner and pathologist over the decision not to hold a post-mortem examination.
Devon and Cornwall Police and the coroner were yesterday criticised by Ms Whitear's parents after the publication of the report into the original investigation. Mrs Holcroft, of Ledbury, Herefordshire, said Devon and Cornwall Police had "failed miserably," and she wanted a "full and public apology".
Heroin-user Ms Whitear's death in Exmouth was the subject of an anti-drugs video called "Rachel's Story" after shocking pictures of her lifeless body were printed in the media.
Speaking in Exeter, where the IPCC published the report, Mrs Holcroft said they were going to take legal advice over the case.
Mrs Holcroft said the coroner, the now retired Richard Van Oppen, "should have ensured that a post-mortem was carried out". The pathologist had stated he did not undertake a post- mortem examination because of Ms Whitear's potential HIV status, Mrs Holcroft said.
"But I do believe that officers from Devon and Cornwall Police should have been pursuing it much harder," she added.
The couple accused Devon and Cornwall Police of not following their force policy guidelines that deaths that might be attributable to drugs should be treated as suspicious until proven otherwise.
"I cannot imagine a death more suspicious than Rachel's," said Mrs Holcroft.
A jury at a second inquest in September last year concluded Ms Whitear died from heroin intoxication but was unable to say whether she injected herself or whether she was alone when she died.
Chief Superintendent Paul Howlett, of Wiltshire Police, said their investigation found that potential lines of inquiry were not pursued by investigating officers. Although they did not amount to a breach of the Police Code of Conduct by individual officers, they did indicate "a general organisational failure within Devon and Cornwall Police".
The first inquest in December 2000 recorded an open verdict with no cause of death established after no post-mortem examination was held. After Mrs Holcroft complained to Devon and Cornwall Police about the investigation, Wiltshire Police were appointed to reinvestigate the death.
Rachel's body was exhumed from Withington churchyard in Hereford in 2004 for a post- mortem examination and further tests, and the High Court ordered a second inquest.
Devon and Cornwall Assistant Chief Constable Paul Netherton said the force had "always been committed to ensuring a thorough investigation into the circumstances of Rachel's death".
He added: "We are sorry that the absence of a post-mortem means that they are left with unanswered questions which can never now be resolved."
The full article contains 524 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
