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| Coroner summing up in Rachel case | Coroner summing up in Rachel case |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The coroner has begun summing up at the inquest into the death of 21-year-old Rachel Whitear. | The coroner has begun summing up at the inquest into the death of 21-year-old Rachel Whitear. |
| The inquest was adjourned on Thursday after a new witness came forward - but no new evidence is to be put before the hearing in Exeter. | The inquest was adjourned on Thursday after a new witness came forward - but no new evidence is to be put before the hearing in Exeter. |
| Miss Whitear, of Herefordshire, died of a suspected drugs overdose at her flat in Exmouth, Devon, in May 2000. | Miss Whitear, of Herefordshire, died of a suspected drugs overdose at her flat in Exmouth, Devon, in May 2000. |
| Photographs of her body were used in national campaigns to highlight the dangers of drug abuse. | Photographs of her body were used in national campaigns to highlight the dangers of drug abuse. |
| This is the second inquest being held into Miss Whitear's death. | |
| The first was held in 2000 and concluded with an open verdict. | |
| However a new inquest, with a different coroner, was ordered by the High Court last year. | |
| At the High Court, Lord Justice Maurice Kay, said the original coroner should not have released the body for burial before a post-mortem examination. |