Lecturer May Face Teen Drug Death Charge

A lecturer could face a manslaughter charge after the death of a schoolgirl who took ecstasy at his house.

A former academic and his partner could face manslaughter charges over the death of a 15-year-old who took ecstasy at their house.

Isobel Reilly died in April last year after taking the drug at an unsupervised party in the west London home of Brian Dodgeon and Angela Hadjipateras.

Dodgeon, 61 admitted possessing class A drugs, including ecstasy, LSD, ketamine and a psychedelic drug known as foxy methoxy.

He was given an eight-month sentence suspended for two years at London's Isleworth Crown Court in December.

But an inquest into Isobel's death was halted on Thursday as new evidence was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) with a view to charging Dodgeon and Ms Hadjipateras with gross negligence manslaughter.

Dodgeon was due to give evidence at the inquest at Westminster's Coroner Court, but he did not get the chance.

Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said new charges could be brought against him and his partner as the inquest heard evidence not previously considered by the CPS.

She highlighted the facts that Dodgeon and Ms Hadjipateras knew that a party would be taking place, accepted that underage teenagers might be drinking and that their daughter had previously found a stash of cannabis in her father's drawer.

Questions needed to be answered about whether Isobel's death was preventable, she said.

"It's with an extremely heavy heart that I apply my duty to adjourn because, in my view, it is likely that a charge of gross negligence manslaughter could be brought against either Ms Hadjipateras or Mr Dodgeon," said Dr Wilcox.

"Both these people had separate and concurrent duties to be considered.

"The evidence, when I reflected upon it, is different to the evidence the CPS originally considered in relation to Mr Dodgeon."

Dodgeon, a former research fellow at the University of London's Institute of Education, and his partner went away for the night on April 22, 2011, leaving their daughter alone at their home in Barlby Road, north Kensington.

They knew she had used Facebook to organise a party, which was attended by about 30 young people who drank cider, wine and spirits, and smoked marijuana.

Their daughter told partygoers she had previously found a stash of cannabis in her father's drawer, and three of the teenagers went to an "out-of-bounds" bedroom in a bid to find some more.

They discovered a canister containing a selection of drugs in capsules, plastic containers and bags. Isobel took two ecstasy tablets.

The teenager suffered adverse effects from taking the drug but would not let her friends call an ambulance for fear of getting into trouble.

She stopped breathing and her friends could not find a pulse. They finally dialled 999 and attempted to perform mouth-to-mouth and CPR.

Isobel, from Acton, west London, was taken to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington but was pronounced dead at 6.30am on April 23.

She died of MDMA poisoning, the inquest heard.

Dodgeon's daughter and two 14-year-old boys also needed hospital treatment after the party.

Dodgeon told police in interview that he was a recreational drug user and described himself as an "old hippie".

The lecturer, a former social worker whose research subjects have included health inequalities and alcohol consumption patterns, said it had "never crossed his mind" that someone would find the drugs.

About a week after the incident, Dodgeon attempted suicide.

http://news.sky.com 02/08/2012