Addict’s body to be exhumed

THE parents of English drug addict Rachel Whitear were last night hoping their decision to allow the exhumation of her body would finally solve the mystery of her death.

The remains of the 21-year-old student from Herefordshire will undergo a post-mortem examination four years after her death as part of a re-investigation by police.

It was originally thought Ms Whitear took a fatal heroin overdose at her Devon bedsit.

But an inquest following her death in May 2000 recorded an open verdict with no post mortem examination and a blood test recording only a low amount of drugs in her body.

Two years ago, Rachel’s mother and stepfather, Pauline and Mick Holcroft, allowed photographs of her corpse to be used as part of an educational video called Rachel’s Story, warning pupils of the dangers of drugs. These showed her kneeling head down on the floor of her flat in Exmouth, still clutching a syringe.

At a news conference in Hereford yesterday, Mr and Mrs Holcroft said they had come to the difficult decision to allow the exhumation because they think it might be the only way to solve the mystery of her death.

Mrs Holcroft said: “It is very upsetting. All we want is a closure on it, but we know that may never happen.

“We feel there may be an opportunity to get more information regarding her death. Because of that we feel we must say yes. It is difficult to live not knowing or understanding what your daughter died from.”

Mr Holcroft stressed he and his wife had no regrets about making Rachel’s Story. “The outcome of the investigation, whatever that may be, will have no bearing on the validity or importance of the film in tackling the nightmare of drug abuse,” he said.

Questions have long hung over the death of Ms Whitear. Her parents have harboured doubts about the inquest verdict as well as the way the original investigation was carried out by Devon and Cornwall Police.

Their concerns led to the launch of a fresh inquiry in May last year, supervised by the Police Complaints Authority. Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Howlett, head of Wiltshire CID, who is leading the inquiry, said: “Rachel was buried without any post mortem examination of her body being conducted beforehand. will address why no autopsy was carried out following the discovery of Ms Whitear’s body on May 12, 2000.

He will also explore the possibility that someone else was involved in her death, though he refused to give any further detail.

Asked if there was heroin in the syringe she was clutching when her body was discovered, he replied: “I think it is inconclusive at this time.”