Dad loses bid for fresh inquest into death of his accountant daughter who killed herself days before rape claim trial
Judges offered 'deepest' sympathies to de Freitas family but said that original inquest was lawfully carried out
THE FAMILY of a young woman who killed herself days before she faced court on suspicion of making a false rape claim have lost their legal battle for a fresh inquest into her death.
David de Freitas, the father of Eleanor de Freitas, had fought for the first inquest into his 23-year-old daughter’s death to be quashed to allow a new investigation into the Crown Prosecution Service decision to prosecute.
Two London High Court judges today offered their "deepest" sympathies, but said that Mr de Freitas' case was "unarguable".
The CPS took over a prosecution of Miss de Freitas after she told police she had been raped by the son of a Greek shipping magnate.
The first inquest into her death, heard by coroner Chinyere Inyama, did not call on the CPS to give evidence over how it had handled the case after taking it up from private prosecutions.
Asking the two judges for permission to make his application for a new inquest, Mr de Freitas said: “My concern has been to explore the conduct of the CPS and their alleged failures in the context of the very important wider public interest issues raised.
"I hope that by having a fresh inquest with the scope widened to include the CPS, or a public inquiry, that answers can be found and important lessons learned so that no other vulnerable young woman or her family are forced to deal with what Eleanor and her family have been forced to come to terms with."
Today judges ruled that the coroner did not "err in law" by deciding not to call for evidence from the CPS.
Lord Justice Gross said the court had the "greatest sympathy for the family", but added that "no good purpose would be served by permitting the case to go further when it is bound to fail".
Mr Justice Nicol announced that the inquest into Ms de Freitas's death was "lawfully conducted".
The first inquest found that the looming court case for perverting the course of justice was a “stressor” in Miss de Freitas's life and recorded a verdict of suicide.
The inquest had originally been adjourned to give Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders the chance to examine the decision by the CPS to take Miss de Freitas to court.
Miss de Freitas, a young trainee accountant who struggled with bipolar disorder, killed herself at her family home in Fulham on 4 April 2014.
She had told police she had been raped by Alexander Economou, 35, the son of a Greek shipping magnate.
He then launched a private prosecution case her but it was soon after taken over by the CPS.
Mr de Freitas said he believed the coroner should have considered the role of the CPS in the prosecution, particularly as the imminent trial had been recognised as a significant stressor for his daughter.
His legal team are expected to focus on the proper scope of the inquest and the duty of the coroner to ensure all the relevant facts are "fully, fairly and fearlessly investigated".