WILTSHIRE police have won the backing of attorney general Lord Goldsmith to open a new inquest into the death of heroin addict Rachel Whitear in 2000.
Ms Whitear, 21, originally from Ledbury, was found dead in her rented bed-sit in Exmouth, Devon in May 2000 in an apparent overdose. Her parents took the unusual step of releasing a picture of her dead on the floor of her bedroom, holding a syringe, to be used in an anti-drugs campaign in 2002.
The initial investigation into Miss Whitear's death was conducted by Devon and Cornwall police and an inquest concluded an open verdict. But no post mortem examinations had been carried out and tests revealed that there was not enough heroin in the syringe to kill her.
DC Supt Paul Howlett, from Wiltshire Police, was brought in to lead a new investigation into the circumstances of Miss Whitear's death in May 2003, after the case was taken to the Police Complaints Authority.
Ms Whitear's body was then exhumed in March 2004 for further forensic and toxicological tests. Mr Howlett presented his report to Dr Elizabeth Earland, HM Coroner for Exeter and Greater Devon, but she concluded that the inquest should not be re-opened.
Wiltshire police took the matter to the attorney general and won his backing. The police now have six weeks to make the application to the High Court.
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