Addict Rachel's body is exhumed

Doctors in Hereford are preparing to carry out a post-mortem

The parents of heroin addict Rachel Whitear watched while her body was exhumed as part of a re-investigation into her death.

Work began at first light on Tuesday at the 21-year-old's grave at St Peter's churchyard near Hereford.

After nearly five hours, Miss Whitear's coffin was loaded into a new casket and driven away in a hearse.

The former Bath university student was originally thought to have died from a drugs overdose in May 2000.

Her mother and stepfather, Pauline and Mick Holcroft, had originally planned to stay away but arrived at the churchyard at 0900 GMT to watch the final stages of the exhumation.

Open verdict

A short prayer was read by the Reverend Nicholas Varnon.

Miss Whitear's remains are being taken to Hereford County Hospital where a post-mortem examination is expected to be carried out on Tuesday afternoon.

Pictures of Rachel's body were used in an anti-drugs campaign

A new inquiry into Miss Whitear's death was launched after her mother and stepfather raised concerns about the initial investigation into her death.

No post-mortem examination was carried out at the time and an inquest into her death recorded an open verdict.

Toxicology tests will be carried out on Miss Whitear's remains to try to discover a cause of death.

Detective Chief Supt Paul Howlett, who is leading the inquiry, said tests would be carried out by two Home Office pathologists and would last about six hours.

"If there are further lines of inquiry, we will pursue them. The important thing here is we need to be methodical," he said.

"We need to get greater clarity about the levels of heroin. That might help the experts offer an opinion on the circumstances of Rachel's death."

Drug abuse warning

During the exhumation, the church was cordoned off, a footpath through the graveyard closed and a tent put up over the grave while forensic experts and gravediggers unearthed the coffin.

After Rachel's death, her mother and stepfather released pictures showing her dead on the floor of her Devon bedsit, to be used in a video illustrating the dangers of drug abuse to pupils.

Wiltshire Police, supervised by the Police Complaints Authority, started the re-investigation after the concerns were raised about the handling of the original inquiry by Devon and Cornwall Police.

After post-mortem tests Miss Whitear's remains will be re-interred at the churchyard following a short ceremony.