Jury retires to consider conclusion at inquest into Dorset teen's death
Gaia Pope, 19, was found dead on a clifftop near Swanage after going missing
Last updated 15th Jul 2022
The jury at the inquest into the death of a teenager found dead on a Dorset clifftop has retired to consider its conclusion after hearing 12 weeks of evidence.
The body of Gaia Pope was discovered 11 days after she went missing in Swanage in November 2017, having died from hypothermia.
The hearing in Bournemouth has been told the 19-year-old, who suffered from severe epilepsy, was terrified of a man she had accused of raping her.
A search operation was launched and Miss Pope's body was found by police between Dancing Ledge and Anvil Point, close to the Swanage coastal path.
During the inquest, jurors at Dorset Coroner's Court heard evidence from 78 witnesses, including admitted failings from healthcare professionals and Dorset Police.
Among these accepted failings was a delay in creating a missing person report for the teenager, her initial grading as medium risk instead of high risk, and the delayed response in the first 48 hours after she disappeared.
Rachael Griffin, senior coroner for Dorset, told the jury in her legal directions that even though the force admitted failings in the search for Miss Pope-Sutherland, there was not enough evidence to find they contributed to her death.
"There is insufficient evidence to say that if these failings had not occurred Gaia would have survived," she said.
"I have concluded that none of these can be safely considered to be either probably or possibly causative of Gaia's death."
The coroner also directed the jury to try and reach a unanimous conclusion.
She said: "Your conclusion must not be framed in such a way as to appear to determine the question of criminal or civil liability on the part of a named person.
"You decide this case solely on the evidence you see and hear in this court. Do not do your own research or look anything up on the internet."