Gaia Pope inquest: Everything we've learnt over last 12 weeks

Since then, jurors have heard from thr 19-year-old’s family, epilepsy treatment team, social workers and police involved in handling her disappearance.

The court has heard of a number of “missed opportunities” in Miss Pope’s care, as well as in the efforts to find her when she went missing in Swanage on November 7, 2017.

She was found 11 days later, less than a mile away, in undergrowth on a clifftop between Dancing Ledge and Anvil Point, her medical cause of death was given has hypothermia.

With the inquest nearing the conclusion, here is a summary of the key evidence heard throughout.

READ MORE: Jury retires to consider conclusion in Gaia Pope inquest

READ MORE: Gaia Pope inquest: Officers 'had no idea' about meeting with teen

APRIL

Senior coroner for Dorset, Rachael Griffin, opened the hearing on April 26, where she told jurors Miss Pope was “anxious” about the imminent release from prison of the guy she alleged raped her.

The court was then played a pen portrait video produced by Ms Pope’s family, where they described her as a “force of nature”.

The video ended with Miss Pope’s cousin Marienna Pope-Weidemann, saying: “Above all, we remember Gaia’s immense passion, compassion and creativity.

“We give thanks for every day we got to share with her. The world is a darker place without Gaia, and she will be missed every minute of the rest of our lives.”

The inquest was also told how Ms Pope feared she was pregnant and had split up with her boyfriend.

READ MORE: Gaia Pope inquest: Family pay moving tribute in video

MAY

As the inquest entered May, jurors were told by neurologist Professor Matthew Walker, that there was a “lack of communication between community psychiatric teams and neurological care”.

He said there was a “lack of communication throughout the NHS”, and better communication could prevent future deaths.

A psychiatrist then spoke of his “regret” at discharging the teenager without any community mental health support just weeks before her death.

Dr Peter Jeffery completed a Mental Health Act assessment in the early hours of October 22 2017 after the 19-year-old’s worried family took her to Poole Hospital.

He decided she did not require admission to a psychiatric unit and instead sent her home with a summary of her hospital admission being sent to her GP.

Professor David Chadwick, emeritus professor of neurology, told the inquest Miss Pope had “severe and complex” epilepsy.

He described neurologists not being informed of her time spent in a mental health unit between December 2016 and October 2017 as a “missed opportunity” to review her epilepsy care.

Miss Pope’s sister, Clara Pope-Sutherland, told the inquest she told three police officers to search the area she was eventually found after she went missing.

She said: “I had said on multiple times and commented on the significance of the Dancing Ledge walk.

“In my mind, it didn’t make much sense that she would be anywhere else other than trying to be there and being close with him, my grandfather.”

On the day Miss Pope went missing, November 7, 2017, she was due to attend Wareham Police Station to report receiving indecent photos online.

The inquest heard how officers laughed and thought her aunt Talia Pope was “taking the ****” when she called a number of times to ascertain when the interview was and who with.

READ MORE: Gaia Pope inquest: Dorset Police search 'didn't make sense'

Miss Pope’s father, Richard Sutherland said his daughter could have been found earlier if police had listened.

Jurors then heard there was a three-hour delay in logging Miss Pope’s disappearance.

Talia Pope phoned police at 3.41pm on November 7 to report her niece was “distressed” and had run out the home, she was reported as a missing person at 6.15pm.

Concerns were also raised about the grading of the missing person enquiry, originally graded ‘medium risk’.

Police inspector Andrew Alkins said it was a mistake and she should have been ‘high risk’.

Just one officer faced misconduct proceedings in the wake of Miss Pope’s death, police constable Sean Mallon.

Mr Mallon denied it being the “blind leading the blind” when he was “acting up” as sergeant on the night the teenager went missing.

He did admit he “failed to satisfactorily hand over the missing person investigation to ensure appropriate progress, failed to inform the night shift sergeant based in Poole responsible for policing Swanage overnight that Ms Pope was missing and failed to task Wareham night shift officers with carrying out any attempt to locate Ms Pope”.

READ MORE: Gaia Pope inquest: Dorset Police officer accepts failings

JUNE

Into June, and the officer who initially graded Miss Pope as a medium risk, chief inspector Steve White, spoke of his ‘regret’ and not grading her correctly.

Jurors were then told by Miss Pope’s cousin, Marienna Pope-Weidemann, that the teenager feared she would never be believed over the alleged rape.

A Dorset Police officer admitted to court he altered the search records relating to the hunt for Miss Pope.

PC David Taylor inserted additional information into the search logs up to a month after the teenager was found dead.

The officer said: “I can only apologise. My thought process was to produce a clear report of what was going on.

“At the time I felt I was writing a report and including notes and details about what I knew at the time.

“I do not believe anything in there would have changed the decisions made at the time.”

The officer denied attempting to mislead the court and falsifying documents.

Detective chief inspector Neil Devoto, giving evidence, denied claims he told the family he took over the investigation because it was badly run.

He said he had “no concerns” about the investigation when he took over five days after Miss Pope was last seen alive.

JULY

More recently, the jury have been told of a sub-optimal assessment on the day Miss Pope disappeared.

They also heard from social worker Sarah Lock who said she was not told of a a missing mental health assessment.

She said if she had been contacted it would have presented an opportunity to speak with Miss Pope and assess her needs.

Miss Pope was found on November 18, 2017. A sock of hers was found around 10m away the day before. Two days before that, clothes were found in an adjacent field. She went missing on November 7, 2017.

The conclusion, as well as a potential preventing future deaths report, is expected in the coming days.