Leah BettsOn November 11, 1995, a young woman named Leah Betts was admitted to hospital for a suspected drug overdose. That evening she had been out celebrating her 18th birthday with friends at an Essex nightclub, where it was alleged she had taken an ecstasy tablet. Five days later, Leah Betts died from the effects of the drug, which was used by the British tabloid media as an example of the dangers of drugs.
For many young people turning eighteen, a night out drinking and partying is seen as a rite of passage, that final journey from childhood to adulthood. From that point onwards, they can legally buy items and do things that were once forbidden. For Leah Betts, it was meant to be a happy events, but her celebration soon turned tragic.
Just ten days after her eighteenth birthday, Leah Betts, a schoolgirl from Latchingdon in Essex, decided to go partying with friends at one of the many nightclubs in area. At some point in the evening, the group of friends went to Raquel’s Club, where one of them bought a bag of ecstasy (MDMA) tablets from a dealer that were stamped with an apple symbol.
It is unknown who provided a tablet to Leah Betts, but four hours after taking one, and after drinking approximately 7 litres of water during a 90-minute period. This was following common advice at the time to drink more fluids after taking an excessive dancing post-drug that could lead to dehydration, which in turn exacerbating her hyponatremia; a symptom known as SIADH.
As a result Leah began drinking an unsafe amount of water. With the drug affecting her bodily systems, she felt unwell and was taken to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, where she would remain until she died, just five days later when the life support machine keeping her alive was turned off.
This decision was taken by her family, who were told she would not recover from the effects of the drugs she ingested. A post-mortem found that because of the drugs effects of her bodily functions, she was unable to relieve herself after drinking so much water. As a result, she suffered water intoxication and hyponatremia, which led to her brain swelling.
This is what caused her to fall into a coma, from which she never recovered.
Sat at her bedside was her father Paul Betts, an ex-policeman, her stepmother and her brother William, who was seven years younger. “Look what can happen when young people don’t listen. One tablet could end her life. What sort of a buzz is that for God’s sake? She’s 18,” said Paul. “I don’t know whether she is going to see 19.”
At the inquest, it was stated by toxicologist John Henry, who had previously warned the public of the danger of MDMA causing death by dehydration, “If Leah had taken the drug alone, she might well have survived. If she had drunk the amount of water alone, she would have survived.”
The death of Leah Betts was a direct result of the ecstasy (MDMA) tablet she was supplied and had taken, and so Essex police launched a large inquiry to locate the suppliers of the tablet she had taken. A team of 35 officers were able to pinpoint Raquel’s Club as the venue where it was bought.
Detectives arrested and charged four of her friends who had been present at the house as a result of the investigation. Of these four, only two were prosecuted, one received a conditional discharge, while the other was acquitted after a retrial. The identity of the dealer remained a mystery, as did the group behind the supply of drugs, with the whole investigation cost roughly £300,000.
The death of Leah Betts caused fear and shock across Britain, with many parents worried about dangers such drugs posed to their children. Leah was a young woman from a middle-class family, who, it was believed, had never done drugs before. The British press used the incident as a prime example of the dangers of drug use.
“Every so often an event occurs which shocks us out of our apathy. The tragedy of Leah Betts is such an event,” Liverpool Echo journalist Walter Huntley said at the time. Police confirmed that the drug Leah had taken was not contaminated, and that she had died from the effects of the drug on its own.
One month after the tragic death of Leah Betts, the bodies of three men were found inside a Range Rover on a quiet country lane in Rettendon. The victims, who had been shot to death inside the vehicle, were later identified as local drug dealers Tony Tucker, Pat Tate and Craig Rolfe, who were known as the Essex Boys.
It soon became reported in the press that Tucker’s gang had been responsible for the control of drugs in Raquel’s Club, the Basildon nightclub where the ecstasy tablet that caused Leah Betts death had been bought. This in turn led to the theory that the murders of the Essex Boys was in retaliation for her death.
The father of Leah Betts, a retired Met firearms officer was even pulled in for questioning over the shootings. Paul Betts said, “I nearly got nicked for the murders. At the time I was running a clay pigeon shooting business and the police took all my guns. But I hadn’t heard of any of the murdered three.”
Despite this theory, there was never any evidence that linked the three murdered drug dealers to the supply of drugs that caused Leah Bett’s death. The murder of the Essex Boys was later attributed to an underworld feud, that caused a fallout between Tony Tucker, Pat Tate and Craig Rolfe, and two associates who were later convicted of their murders.
An Anti-drug campaign featured a picture of Leah Betts smiling, with the caption “Sorted: Just one ecstasy tablet took Leah Betts”. A haunting image of Leah Betts on life support in her hospital bed that was released by her family, has become one of the defining images of the dangers of drug use in Britain.
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