Gaia Pope family criticise coroner as inquest endson July 16, 2022 at 10:25 am

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Family hits out at the inquest system after coroner told jury not to blame police for the teen’s death.

Gaia PopeImage source, PA

The family of Gaia Pope have criticised the coroner after the jury at her inquest was told the police could not be blamed for her death.

A narrative conclusion citing the 19-year-old’s mental health and a lack of medical after-care was returned.

Coroner Rachael Griffin told the jury not to consider the accepted police failings as contributory factors.

Cousin Marienna Pope-Weidemann said it was a “shocking indictment” of the inquest system.

The teenager’s family also criticised the police after the inquest found she died from hypothermia hours after running away from her home while suffering a mental health crisis.

They said Dorset Police failed the teenager when she reported she had been raped and also failed her in the first two days after she went missing in Swanage in November 2017 – her body was found 11 days later.

Gaia Pope poster, Swanage

Image source, PA

Miss Pope-Weidemann hit out at the decision of senior coroner Rachael Griffin to direct the jury not to consider the accepted police failings as contributory factors in her death.

“It is a shocking indictment of the inquest system that before the inquest even started so much of Gaia’s story was excluded and then later that the majority of evidence heard by the jury, including the police failures in the search, was taken off the table for them to consider at all,” she said.

“We remain concerned this was not the full and fearless investigation we were promised, and perhaps that is the single greatest opportunity, missed.

“A few missed opportunities might be human error, this many are not.”

Dorset coastal path

Dorset Police’s chief constable Scott Chilton accepted earlier there were several failures made in the search for Miss Pope.

Dorset Police said it was “truly sorry” Gaia and her family did not receive better treatment in the 48 hours following her disappearance.

In a statement it said it recognised it “should have done much better” in how it dealt with the case.

It said since her death it had worked to “ensure we have the right framework in place so we can respond promptly and effectively when someone is reported missing”.

Presentational grey line

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk.

Related Internet Links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
- Advertisement -

Discover

Sponsor

Latest

William Ruto: How Kenya’s new president is influenced by religionon September 12, 2022 at 11:22 pm

William Ruto is Kenya's first evangelical Christian president and is likely to put religion centre-stage.William Ruto is Kenya's first evangelical Christian president and is...

West Ham 2-0 Bournemouth: Kurt Zouma scores controversial goal as Hammers beat Cherrieson October 24, 2022 at 9:11 pm

West Ham move up seven places to 10th in the Premier League table as Kurt Zouma's controversial goal helps them beat Bournemouth.West Ham move...

Tory leadership: Rishi Sunak criticises Covid lockdown responseon August 25, 2022 at 4:20 am

Former chancellor says discussion of negative side effects of government action was not allowed.Image source, EPARishi Sunak has criticised the government's response to Covid...

Same-sex marriage: The lesbian activist seeking equal rights in Indiaon October 16, 2023 at 12:02 am

Maya Sharma doesn't believe in marriage but has petitioned India's Supreme Court to legalise same-sex union.Maya Sharma doesn't believe in marriage but has petitioned...

How To Stream Your Favorite Movies And TV Shows From Netflix?

If you are looking for something else to watch, look no further than Netflix. I use Netflix daily to stream movies and TV shows,...