Whitear died of heroin overdose

The jury at the inquest into the death of Rachel Whitear confirmed today that she died of a heroin overdose.

It was previously thought the amount of heroin in the 21-year-old's body was not enough to kill her, but further tests were carried out and revealed that her death was heroin-related.

The 10-strong jury in this inquest, the second into Whitear's death, also returned an open verdict on a number of other points, saying they did not know whether Whitear injected herself or was alone when she died.

She was found by her landlord on the floor of her flat in Exmouth, Devon, in May 2000, clutching a capped syringe in her right hand.

After the verdict Rachel Whitear's mother, Pauline Holcroft, strongly criticised Devon and Cornwall police for their handling of the original investigation.

"We are not here to apportion blame," she said, "but we can't ignore the fact that we would not be here if it wasn't for the incompetence of the Devon and Cornwall police, which was compounded by the outright negligence of the coroner [at the first inquest]."

Mrs Holcroft said there was a large assumption by the Devon and Cornwall police that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of her daughter but "circumstances were highly suspicious and warranted a detailed investigation".

This week's hearing into Whitear's death was suspended yesterday when two people contacted the police with information that could have had a bearing on the case.

However, after further investigation by Wiltshire police, the new information was not found to be of material importance.

The jury was asked by the coroner, Ian Arrow, to answer a number of questions, including whether Whitear died from heroin intoxication, whether she injected herself, whether they were sure she intended to kill herself and whether she was alone in the room when she died.

Mr Arrow told the jury they were to be concerned only with events between May 10 and 12 2000, the dates when Whitear was believed to have died and when her body was discovered.

He told the jury they were not to judge what happened to Whitear's body or the items in the room after she died unless it helped them to decide how she died. Nor were they required to find whether any individual was or was not involved in such activities.

The first inquest, in December 2000, recorded an open verdict, and no postmortem examination was carried out.

Whitear's mother and stepfather, Mike Holcroft, fought to get a second inquest opened after saying they were dissatisfied with the initial investigation by Devon and Cornwall police. A high court ruling last year overturned the open verdict of the original inquest and ordered a new investigation to be carried out by Wiltshire police.

As part of that investigation Whitear's body was exhumed for a postmortem investigation and more tests, and her former boyfriend Luke Fitzgerald was arrested along with his brother Simon. Both were later released without charge.

Today's open verdict into whether Whitear injected herself or was alone when she died will be a disappointment to the Holcrofts.

The inquest - held this week at Exeter county hall, in Devon - heard from one witness who claimed that Luke had accidentally injected Whitear with an overdose and, together with his brother, had hidden his involvement.

Both brothers denied any involvement with Whitear's death. Luke told the court that he was not with Whitear when she died and that he hadn't even known where her flat was.

Mrs Holcroft said that she and her family remained steadfast that they knew the circumstances behind her daughter's death, but "we will never be able to prove this".

"Having introduced Rachel to drugs, Luke Fitzgerald has apparently moved on with his life."

She also criticised the Fitzgerald family for only now returning to her some of daughter's possessions, including a bible and letters she had written to Rachel.

Mrs Holcroft thanked the coroner in charge of the second inquest, saying "he is a coroner who cares", as well as Detective Superintendent Paul Howlett and his team, from Wiltshire police, for their efforts.

"It's been tough reliving details of Rachel's death and aspects of her life have cut us to the core," she said. "Drug addiction is not pretty and not pleasant and it hurts badly, but we hope it sends a strong message how the use of soft drugs can spiral out of control."

Det Sup Howlett said the inquest had been "a harrowing and life-changing event", but that it had not been able to answer all the questions posed by Whitear's parents.

He told the inquest that the true circumstances surrounding her death might never be known due to a lack of evidence and contradictory accounts that made it impossible to reach a conclusion one way or the other.

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