Rachel Whitear

Rachel Whitear
Rachel Whitear, circa 1995
Born
Rachel Jayne Whitear

(1979-02-06)6 February 1979
Weymouth, Dorset, England[1]
Died10 May 2000(2000-05-10) (aged 21)
Exmouth, Devon, England
Resting placeSt. Peter Churchyard, Withington, Herefordshire, England
52°02′28″N 2°57′23″W / 52.0412°N 2.9565°W / 52.0412; -2.9565 (approximate)
NationalityEnglish
EducationGraduate of Hereford Sixth Form College (two A-Levels)[2]
Occupation(s)Former student; bar worker, shop worker
Known forDeath via heroin overdose
Rachel's Story[3][4]
Parent(s)Pauline (née Scorey)[5] Whitear (mother)
Michael Holcroft (stepfather).[6]

Rachel Jayne Whitear[5] (6 February 1979 – 10 May 2000) was a young woman from Withington, Herefordshire, who died of a heroin overdose in Exmouth, Devon, in May 2000 at the age of 21. She had been a frequent user of the narcotic for two years, having been introduced to heroin usage by her partner, Luke Fitzgerald, in 1998.[7]

Following Whitear's death, her parents authorised the publication of a police photograph of their daughter's slumped, flaccid and discoloured body as she was discovered clutching a syringe inside a rented bedsit approximately two days after her death.[8] Her death and the publication of official police photographs of her body also led to a nationwide anti-drug campaign in Britain involving on a 22-minute documentary titled Rachel's Story which focuses upon her life, her potential, her struggles with heroin addiction, and ultimate overdose. The particular focus of the broadcasting of this documentary was nationwide secondary schools.[1][9]

The nationwide anti-drug campaign following Whitear's death has been compared to the anti-ecstasy campaigns undertaken after the 1995 deaths of English teenager Leah Betts and Australian schoolgirl Anna Wood.[10]

  1. ^ a b Smart, Chris (2002). Rachel's Story (motion picture). Silva Productions. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  2. ^ "What Did Happen to Rachel?". The Independent. 12 November 2003. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Rachel's Story: Concord Media". 3 June 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  4. ^ Johnson, Lydia (26 October 2012). "Parents of Rachel Whitear, Who Died of Heroin Overdose in 2000, Warn Schoolchildren of Drugs". The Herefordshire Times. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b "FreeBMD Birth Records: March 1979". freebmd.org.uk. 19 September 2001. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Final Image of Rachel Whitear May Have Been Posed". Worcester News. 10 September 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  7. ^ "What Did Happen to Rachel?". The Independent. 12 November 2003. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Whitear Died of Heroin Overdose". The Guardian. 14 September 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  9. ^ "What Did Happen to Rachel?". The Independent. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Heroin Victim's Body Used for Campaign". The Guardian. 1 March 2002. Retrieved 7 August 2021.