Rachel Whitear
| Rachel Whitear | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
6 February 1979 Weymouth, Dorset |
| Died | 10 May 2000 (aged 21) Exmouth, Devon |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | former student; bar worker, shop worker |
| Known for | Death following heroin use |
Rachel Jayne Whitear (6 February 1979 - 10 May 2000) was a young woman from Withington, Herefordshire, England, who died in Exmouth, Devon, following a heroin overdose. Her death in May 2000 led to a large-scale anti-drugs campaign in Britain, particularly in secondary schools, when her parents allowed the publication of a police photograph of her body, collapsed on the floor and discoloured. The school campaign was centered on a 22-minute video called Rachel's Story. The campaign was compared to the anti-ecstasy drive undertaken after the death of English school girl Leah Betts in 1995 and a parallel incident culminating in the death of Australian schoolgirl Anna Wood in Sydney.
Born in Weymouth, Dorset, in 1979, Whitear moved to Herefordshire at an early age and grew up there. In August 1999 she began studying at Bath University, but had dropped out and moved to Exmouth by early January 2000. She had jobs in a bar in Bath and a shop in Exmouth. Whitear had a history of substance abuse from the age of 14, which progressed to heroin addiction. She had suffered overdoses in early 2000 but by the time of her death had been engaging with drug counselling and was seeking employment and medical treatment.
Whitear was 21 when she died, having been found in her bedsit at 4 Pound Street, Exmouth, by her landlord, two days after she was last seen alive. The image portrayed in the campaigns was that of a normal, everyday girl, with the message that it could happen to anyone.
The initial police investigation was criticised for a failure to observe correct procedure, and the conclusions of the investigation were questioned. Fingerprints were not taken until two weeks after police were first called to the scene and officers from the Devon and Cornwall Police force originally investigated the death without a post-mortem examination.Toxicology 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.
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