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Whitstable: Josh Oliver died after taking MDMA at girlfriend's house

A 15-year-old boy died after taking MDMA at his girlfriend's house, an inquest has heard.

Josh Oliver went into convulsions at the house in Whitstable on December 29 last year and passed away later at hospital.

Margate Coroner’s Court heard that Jack Pointer, also known as Jack Church and Jack Jheeze Church, was arrested and charged with supplying the class A drug also known as ecstasy and will stand trial.

Josh Oliver, 15, died after taking a suspect drug
Josh Oliver, 15, died after taking a suspect drug

Det Con Martin Williams told the hearing on Tuesday that Pointer was listed in Josh’s mobile phone as “Jack Dealer”.

Josh’s girlfriend Molly Smith-Lawson also identified Pointer as the man who she believed had given Josh the drugs.

Molly told the inquest that she and Josh had gone to her house Saddleton Road on the afternoon of December 29 and “bombed” the MDMA – a method of taking it which involves wrapping the powder form of the drug in a cigarette paper in swallowing it.

She said they had both taken it, but she and two other friends at the house that day soon became concerned about Josh.

Later he started fitting and paramedics were called. Josh was lying on Molly’s bed with his top off.

Paramedic Catherine Tremble said: “Upon arrival at the house,

I went straight upstairs and found Josh in full cardiac arrest.

“He seemed excitable earlier in the evening. As soon I realised something had gone wrong, I acted straight away. My son was giving him CPR. There was panic in the house..." - Tracy Smith-Lawson

"Josh had been fitting for about 45 minutes. He was later taken downstairs and taken to hospital.”

The ambulance took Josh to the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate where he was pronounced dead.

Josh’s sister Charlotte Dyer suggested statements made to the court revealed there had been a delay in the house between it becoming apparent that he was unwell and paramedics being called.

She said: “It seems from the statements that 40 minutes had passed by before anyone had tried to get help.

"It could have made the difference between Josh being here today or not.”

Molly’s mother Tracy Smith-Lawson said that as soon as she was aware something was badly wrong, she had acted immediately.

She said she had met Josh once before, but still thought it strange when he had gone out of the house earlier that day wearing a coat with nothing underneath and shoes, but no socks despite it being the middle of winter.

“When they came up back in, I went up to Molly’s room a couple of times and everything seemed to be OK,” Mrs Smith-Lawson said.

Margate Magistrates' Court
Margate Magistrates' Court

“He seemed excitable earlier in the evening. As soon I realised something had gone wrong, I acted straight away. My son was giving him CPR. There was panic in the house.”

A post-mortem showed that Josh had died of MDMA poisoning.

Coroner Ian Goldup recorded a verdict of death related to drugs.

After the hearing, police said Jack Pointer, 19, of Hill View Road, Whitstable, was charged on September 15 with supplying ecstasy (MDMA) a Class A controlled drug, on December 29 December in Whitstable.

He was due to appear at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday.

Josh was a pupil at the Community College Whitstable and had previously studied at Canterbury High in years 7 and 8.

He lived on a five-acre former farm in Dargate, where his family keep animals.


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