News Beat
Leah Bedford inquest: family calls for lessons to be learned
Leah’s body was recovered from the River Ouse in September 2023 after an eight-day search following her being reported missing.
An inquest on Monday (December 8) heard that Leah, of Acomb, was last seen near Lendal Bridge.
Detective Superintendent Jonathan Sygrove, from North Yorkshire Police, said Leah was seen on CCTV with a man on the bridge but it was a “chance meeting” and officers had ruled out any third-party involvement in her death.
Leah’s body was recovered from the River Ouse near Terry Avenue on September 28, 2023. Her medical cause of death was given as drowning.
The inquest was told that Leah struggled with her mental health and regularly used drugs and alcohol to cope with past trauma.
Leah’s grandmother, Jane Kasiuk, told the court that the teenager had struggled with her mental health for several years and questioned why more had not been done to support her.
The inquest heard that Leah had previously felt suicidal and made attempts to end her life.
Around 14 days before Leah was reported missing, she reported being raped to police.
As The Press reported , Kristian John Franks, 35, of no fixed address, was remanded in custody charged with raping Leah when she died.
The CPS dropped the case against him following Leah’s death because she was no longer able to be cross examined and Franks was formally acquitted and released. He had denied the charge.
Franks was later convicted of raping another woman and jailed for eight years.
The inquest on Monday was told that Leah had been known to North Yorkshire Police’s safeguarding team since 2022.
Detective Chief Inspector David Ellis, from North Yorkshire Police’s safeguarding team, said Leah was deemed to be at high risk of being criminally or sexually exploited in the final months of her life due to her drug use and no longer living at home.
The inquest heard that Leah lived at a hostel before her death and teams from North Yorkshire Police and City of York Council were working to care for her.
Daniel Piper, a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) practitioner, said Leah had been referred to his team and was assessed in June 2023.
Mr Piper said he discussed the possibility of Leah becoming stable enough to begin treatment with the teenager which would require her to stop using drugs.
The inquest heard that Leah was offered drug and alcohol addiction help but she did not attend the appointment.
Mr Piper said he only met Leah face-to-face once but was kept updated about her by other professionals caring for her.
By September 2023, he said it became apparent that Leah was not becoming stable enough to begin treatment so he made efforts to arrange another appointment with her.
He said starting therapy is a “really complicated decision” which would have involved past trauma being brought up – something people often found difficult.
Mr Piper added that he did not interfere more in Leah’s case because he felt she had a good support system, including a positive relationship with her social worker, and he did not want to involve himself more.
Mr Piper said he knew Leah struggled to trust people unknown to her. “Did Leah need me, a stranger, to help her and do the same thing [as those already supporting her]?” he said.
But Leah’s grandmother noted Mr Piper’s role with the mental health team and said his involvement “could have been a reassurance” to Leah.
“She was struggling with her mental health … And you were the professional,” she said.
‘We don’t want anyone else dying’
Addressing Mr Piper, the grandmother said: “If we learn anything from this, that would be something you could understand.”
The grandmother also told Mr Piper she was “not trying to put pressure on you” but said lessons could be taken from how Leah was cared for, adding: “We don’t want anyone else dying.”
The inquest, at Northallerton Coroners’ Court, continues.
