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Isobel Jones-Reilly death
Isobel Reilly collapsed during a party at the house of former university lecturer Brian Dodgeon and later died. Photograph: Metropolitan police/PA
Isobel Reilly collapsed during a party at the house of former university lecturer Brian Dodgeon and later died. Photograph: Metropolitan police/PA

Former lecturer may face manslaughter charges over death of girl, 15

This article is more than 11 years old
Coroner points to new evidence about death of Isobel Reilly after she took ecstasy at home of Brian Dodgeon

A former university lecturer at whose house a schoolgirl died after taking ecstasy at an unsupervised party is facing possible manslaughter charges after new evidence emerged at an inquest.

Westminster coroner Fiona Wilcox adjourned the inquest into the death of Isobel Reilly, 15, who died after taking pills from a secret drugs stash found in a wardrobe in the west London home of Brian Dodgeon, 61, and his partner, Angela Hadjipateras.

Dodgeon was given an eight-month suspended sentence for two years in December for possession of class A drugs, including ecstasy, LSD, ketamine and a psychedelic drug known as foxy methoxy.

Wilcox said new charges could be brought against him and his partner as the inquest heard evidence not previously considered by the Crown Prosecution Service.

She referred the case back to the CPS for it to consider whether to bring charges of gross negligence manslaughter against Dodgeon and Hadjipateras.

The couple were away for the night at the time of the party in April last year, and had asked a neighbour to be on standby in case of problems, Westminster coroner's court heard.

Wilcox highlighted the facts that Dodgeon and 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 the death of Isobel, known as Issy, was preventable.

"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 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, knew their daughter 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 and Issy 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. An ambulance was eventually called one hour after she first felt unwell, and after she had suffered fitting and become unconscious.

Postmortem results showed she had double the lethal dose of ecstasy in her body, and died of MDMA poisoning .

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 by leaping from a bridge over the North Circular road in Walthamstow, east London.

He required brain surgery after fracturing his skull and broke numerous bones, including a femur, an elbow and a heel.

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