The cousin of a 15-year-old girl who died from an MDMA overdose has been jailed for helping to supply the drugs that killed her.
Shakira Pellow died after taking high-strength MDMA with her friends in Camborne on the evening of July 6 2018.
Shakira collapsed in a park near to her home in Pengegon, Cornwall, and was taken to hospital where she died the following morning after suffering multiple cardiac arrests and organ failure, reports Cornwall Live.
The teenager had told friends days before her death that she planned to 'get on it' and arranged to buy the pulls from 18-year-old Joshua Ward.
But she was 'too nervous', Truro Crown Court heard, and enlisted the help of her cousin Oakley Willoughby who approached Ward with the £90 Shakira and her friends had cobbled together and purchased the drugs, before passing them back to her with fatal consequences.
Willoughby had denied possession with intent to supply a Class A drug but was convicted on Monday after a trial.
Judge Simon Carr sent him to a Young Offenders Institution for 12 months.
Ward, now 19, of St Day, Cornwall, had already admitted the same charge and he will be sentenced next month.
The two youths were aged 16 and 17 at the time Shakira died.
Her family released photographs of Shakira wired up in hospital in the hours before she died.
They issued it as a warning to others of the dangers of taking illegal drugs and called Shakira their 'beautiful angel'.
In a moving victim impact statement read to the court, Shakira’s mum Rita Hole described how they were a “normal, happy family”.
She said: “Shakira had so much to live for. Shakira was vibrant, graceful, gentle and so alive. She had so much unfulfilled promise, so much humanity and so much compassion to share.
"Shakira was an easy child to love, eager to please, extraordinarily kind and always polite and respectful.
“She was fun, popular, compassionate and a loyal friend. I, as her mother, cherished every moment I spent with her, so many happy memories.
“To see my baby girl in that mortuary, all cold, is an image that will never leave my head.
"When a mother gives birth she has an immediate instinctive need to nurture and protect her child.
"I would give anything to change places with Shakira, to take away the pain she suffered that evening.”
Rita has had three heart attacks since Shakira died and describes wanting to die but being given strength to carry on by her other girls.
Truro Crown Court heard Shakira had contacted Ward via Facebook and text message to obtain 15 MDMA pills for herself and her friends.
But on the night before she died, she was 'nervous' about getting the drugs from Ward and asked her cousin to get them instead.
Willoughby paid £90 for the drugs and then handed them to Shakira who took three of the high strength pills called Duplos.
Prosecutor Jason Beal said some of her friends also took the drugs before going to Pengegon Park in Camborne where three of them became ill and collapsed.
Shakira was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack but died the next morning from multiple organ failure as a result of the toxic effects of the MDMA.
The jury was told Shakira had asked Ward what pills she was buying. He replied 'Duplos - took one last night and they are banging'
Detective Inspector Glenn Willcocks, said: "Today sees the conclusion of a lengthy investigation into the supply of MDMA (ecstasy) to Shakira Pellow and three other young people, the youngest aged 13.
"The outcome assists to bring closure for Shakira’s family and friends and holds those involved in the supply of the drugs responsible for their actions.
"Anyone who provides another with an illegal drug takes on significant risk; sadly in this case Shakira and her family paid the ultimate price.
"This case serves as a tragic reminder of the risks associated with the use and supply of drugs and I would urge those involved in either, to seriously consider the consequences."
