A Fatal Accident Inquiry into the tragic death of a teenage girl will finally go ahead - via video link.
The heartbroken family of Sophie Parkinson, who was just 13 when she took her own life, have waited six years for answers.
The youngster died at her home on the outskirts of Dundee in 2014 after looking at online “suicide guides.”
The FAI was due to happen at Dundee Sheriff Court and has been hit by a series of delays, but it will now proceed via a conference call.
A sheriff, three QCs and their legal teams and a specialist prosecutor will listen to witnesses and each other over the phone as Sophie’s relatives monitor proceedings.
The teen’s mum, Ruth Moss, told of her relief at the decision to go ahead with the case, made at a preliminary hearing on Tuesday.
She had major concerns the Covid-19 pandemic would further delay proceedings.
Mrs Moss said: “We’re so glad that everything has been ironed out and the inquiry can now proceed.
“It’s very important in the current climate that things are done safely so we have no issues with it being via a conference call.
“Family members in England want to keep up with what’s happening so we’re hoping they can listen in too.”
And she added: “All we’ve wanted from the outset is answers and to also ensure procedures are put in place to ensure what happened to Sophie can never happen again to another family.
“How that happens is not important, whether it’s in court or over the phone, as long as it’s done properly.”
Mrs Moss is a senior research nurse who focuses on cystic fibrosis - she is also a critical care specialist and is advising an Edinburgh based mental health charity - Penumbra - on suicide prevention.
In recent weeks she has been helping fight Coronavirus at her local NHS trust.
She has lodged official complaints to the public services ombudsman about a litany of delays in Sophie’s case and the Crown Office’s handling of it.
Mrs Moss believes psychiatric teams in NHS Tayside could have done more to support her daughter in the years leading up to her death.
Sophie was a second year pupil at the £13,000-a-year High School of Dundee when she died in March 2014 at her family's home in Liff.
Before she died, she was said to have been chatting to adults online and looking at content relating to self harm and suicide.
Commenting on the case earlier this year, a Crown Office spokesman said: “The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is committed to the thorough and timely investigation of deaths in Scotland.
“We have apologised unreservedly to the family for falling far below the high standards that are rightly expected of us by the people of Scotland.
“COPFS are currently implementing a management project to improve the way the progress of all death investigations are monitored to ensure they are completed as efficiently as possible.
“Any lessons that can be learned from this case will be incorporated into this programme to improve the service delivered by the procurator fiscal in this important area of work.”
The Samaritans is available 24/7 if you need to talk. You can contact them for free by calling 116 123.
