Rachel Whitear was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 student from Ledbury

Ledbury

Ledbury is a town in Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and south of the Malvern Hills.Today, Ledbury is a thriving market town in rural England. The town has a large number of timber framed buildings, in particular along Church Lane and High Street. One of Ledbury's most outstanding...

, Herefordshire

Herefordshire

Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...

 who died following a heroin overdose

Drug overdose

The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...

. Her death in May 2000 led to a large-scale anti-drugs campaign in Britain, particularly in secondary schools, when her parents allowed a police photograph to be shown publicly – it showed her discoloured

Livor mortis

Livor mortis , postmortem lividity , or hypostasis is one of the signs of death...

 body collapsed in the foetal position. The school campaign was centred on a 22-minute video called Rachel's Story. The campaign was seen as an equivalent of the anti-ecstasy drive undertaken after the death of British school girl Leah Betts

Leah Betts

Leah Sarah Betts was a schoolgirl from Latchingdon in Essex, England, United Kingdom. She is notable for the extensive media coverage and moral panic that followed her death several days after her 18th birthday. On 11 November, she took an Ecstasy tablet, and then drank approximately 7 litres of...

 in 1995 and a parallel incident culminating in the death of Australian schoolgirl Anna Wood in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

.

Death

Whitear was 21 when she died, having been found dead in her bedsit

Bedsit

A bedsit, also known as a bed-sitting room, is a form of rented accommodation common in Great Britain and Ireland consisting of a single room and shared bathroom; they are part of a legal category of dwellings referred to as Houses in multiple occupation....

 in Exmouth, Devon

Exmouth, Devon

Exmouth is a port town, civil parish and seaside resort in East Devon, England, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe. In 2001, it had a population of 32,972.-History:...

, by her landlord. The image portrayed in the campaigns was that of a normal, everyday girl, with the message that it could happen to anyone.

History

The initial police investigation was criticised for a failure to observe correct procedure, and the conclusions of the investigation were questioned. Fingerprint

Fingerprint

A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...

s were not taken until two weeks after police were first called to the scene and officers from the Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

 and Cornwall Police force originally investigated the death without a post-mortem examination. Toxicology

Toxicology

Toxicology is a branch of biology, chemistry, and medicine concerned with the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms...

 later revealed that the level of heroin in Whitear's bloodstream was 0.05 micrograms per millilitre, one third of the 0.15 μg/ml generally considered to be fatal. Because the case seemed to have been solved, no post-mortem examination was ordered. Two men were arrested in connection with her death, but were released without charge.

Exhumation

Whitear's body was exhumed on 23 March 2004, and a second investigation, by Wiltshire Police, this time including a post-mortem. The inquest returned an open verdict

Open verdict

The Open verdict is an option open to a Coroner's jury at an Inquest in the legal system of England and Wales. The verdict strictly means that the jury confirms that the death is suspicious but is unable to reach any of the other verdicts open to them...

. In October 2006, the High Court overturned the decision of Dr Elizabeth Earland, Exeter and Greater Devon District Coroner

Coroner

A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...

, not to grant a request for a new inquest, after evidence from Russell Fortt, counsel for Chief Superintendent Paul Howlett of Wiltshire Police, told the court there had been a "highly material failure to carry out reliable toxicology tests which was compounded by the failure to carry out a post-mortem". He said that a significant body of evidence now existed which was not previously before the coroner. Additionally, there has been speculation that Whitear may have been killed by her boyfriend.

Controversies

A painting of Whitear by Stella Vine

Stella Vine

Stella Vine is an English artist, who lives and works in London. Her work is figurative painting with subject matter drawn from either her personal life of family, friends and school, or rock stars, royalty and celebrities.After a difficult relationship with her stepfather, she left home and in...

, showing her with blood coming from her mouth, caused controversy during the second investigation when the police backed the calls of Whitear's parents for it not to be part of the Saatchi Gallery

Saatchi Gallery

The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art, opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985 in order to exhibit his collection to the public. It has occupied different premises, first in North London, then the South Bank by the River Thames and currently in Chelsea. Saatchi's collection, and...

 exhibition, New Blood. Despite the controversy, it was not withdrawn.

Her parents are considering legal action against the British National Party

British National Party

The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...

 (BNP), who used the photograph of Rachel's body in a political leaflet. The BNP have refused to apologise for the use of the image.

External links

• 1 March 2002. "Heroin victim's death used as warning" at BBC News
  BBC News
  BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
  
  . Accessed 21 November 2005.
• 14 February 2004 "Addict's body to be exhumed for new tests" at Guardian Unlimited
  Guardian Unlimited
  guardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor...
  
  . Accessed 22 November 2005.
• 3 August 2004. Booth, Jenny. "No third party involved in Rachel's heroin death" at The Times
  The Times
  The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
  
   Online. Accessed 21 November 2005.
• 4 August 2004. Glendinning, Lee. "No third party involved in Rachel Whitear death" at The Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
  
  . Accessed 21 November 2005.
• http://www2.correioweb.com.br/cw/2002-03-02/fotos/PRI-0203-0110.JPG
• 14 September 2007 Rachel 'may not have died alone'