Mum Speaks Out At Inquest Of Daughter's Rooftop Death
The mother of a woman who fell to her death in Rochdale, after learning that a man accused of raping her had been acquitted, said her daughter had been “very distressed.”
Tracy Shelvey, 41, fell from the roof of a car park after learning the defendant she had given evidence against had been cleared.
The inquest held at Oldham County Court heard that Ms Shelvey who’s from Rochdale, gave evidence at two trials in Manchester but, following a retrial, the man was cleared.
Ms Shelvey's mother Irene Shelvey said that her daughter had been confident the defendant would be found guilty.
When asked whether she believed her daughter had intended the consequences of her actions on top of the roof on the 3rd February last year, she replied, “I don't think she did”.
Mrs Shelvey told the inquest:
“She said she was confident about the outcome of the trial because she said there's other girls involved. She said he was going to get what was coming to him and that made her happy. She said she was doing it because a 15-year-old girl was involved and she was going to support her.”
She said on January 31 2014 she received a call from her daughter in a distressed state, speaking of a 15-year-old girl who had allegedly been raped.
Mrs Shelvey said her daughter was “extremely upset”, saying “he's got away with it”, and “how could he do that?”
She added that during the early hours plain clothed police officers looking for her daughter visited her, recounting distressed calls they had received from Miss Shelvey.
Mrs Shelvey then received a call on February 3rd, to say that her daughter had been taken to hospital following the fall.
Mrs Shelvey added:
“I think she was so distressed that he didn't get found guilty, I think she had it in her mind that he was going to get found guilty.
Obviously she was distressed, when she was on the roof and people were saying things, she was saying 'you're the non-believers’.
She had it on her mind that maybe people didn't believe her.''
She added she had believed her daughter “100%”.
She said her daughter disclosed to her that she had been raped in early 2012.
In early 2013 the inquest heard that Miss Shelvey had told her mother that girls had come forward to say they had been raped by the same individual and she was going to support the women.
Mrs Shelvey paid tribute to her daughter:
“She was good hearted, she would do anything for anyone and she was a really good mother. She loved her daughter more than anything. She tried to help people, she did have her problems and lots of people tried to help her.
She would give you anything if she had it, but most of all she had a really really loving relationship with her daughter.”
(Proceeding.)