A teenager has been convicted of supplying three super-strength ecstasy pills to his schoolgirl cousin before the 15-year-old collapsed and died of an overdose.
Shakira Pellow took MDMA with friends at her home in Camborne on the evening of July 6, 2018, before collapsing in a nearby park.
She was taken to hospital where she passed away the following morning after suffering multiple cardiac arrests and organ failure.
Her cousin Oakley Willoughby, 18, of Parc an Tansys in Camborne, was today found guilty of supplying a Class A drug.
Oakley Willoughby, 18, (left) has been convicted of supplying three super strength ecstasy pills to his schoolgirl cousin Shakira Pellow (right) before the 15-year-old collapsed and died of an overdose
Two men were arrested in connection with the incident and later charged with supplying a Class A drug. One of the men was Willoughby.
He had been on trial at Truro Crown Court having previously denied supplying 15 tablets of the Class A drug.
He was given the MDMA by another man, 18-year-old Joshua Ward of St Day who admitted his role in the incident previously.
Shakira was taken to hospital (pictured) where she passed away the following morning after suffering multiple cardiac arrests and organ failure
Shakira asked Willoughby to pick up the drugs for her.
Throughout the trial Willoughby stated that it was not him that approached Ward and that the first he knew about what happened was when he found Shakira collapsed on the ground.
Following a period of deliberation the jury returned to convict Willoughby of the charge.
Opening the case, prosecutor Jason Beal told the jury how Shakira had arranged to purchase the drugs from Ward, before asking Willoughby if he would come to the meeting point with her.
Mr Beal said: ‘Oakley denied he was also involved, denied he was the man to whom Joshua Ward gave the tablets and that he was the man who passed them on to his cousin.’
The court heard how in the days leading up to her death, Shakira messaged Ward to see if he could ‘sort pills’ for her and some friends.
Shakira had arranged to purchase the drugs from 18-year-old Joshua Ward, before asking Willoughby if he would come to the meeting point with her
Eventually Ward agreed to sell 15 tablets of MDMA to Shakira for £90.
The pair arranged to meet at a scrapyard opposite the Tesco superstore in Camborne at around 8pm on Friday, July 6, 2018.
In a message, Shakira asked Ward what pills she was buying, to which he replied, ‘Duplos, took one last night and they are banging’.
Shakira replied that she ‘might be with Oakley Willoughby’, and Ward confirmed that he knew him.
The prosecution stated that Shakira asked Willoughby to collect the drugs from Ward.
‘She was nervous about going up to the car herself,’ Mr Beal said.
The jury was shown CCTV footage of Willoughby walking out of the Tesco store in the direction of the scrapyard, as well as the arrival of Ward and his father in a car.
An ambulance was called at 10.30pm, and Shakira was taken to Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro. Pictured: Floral tributes were left for Shakira
Mr Beal told the jury about a message Willoughby allegedly sent to Ward from Shakira’s phone, which said, ‘It’s Oakley. WYSG, I’m here now’.
‘That indicates Oakley was using Shakira’s phone to tell Joshua Ward he was here now,’ Mr Beal said.
‘When Joshua Ward arrived he saw a group of young people standing by a path and one person walking towards the car who he knew and recognised as Oakley Willoughby, who appeared at the passenger side window. Joshua Ward handed him 15 tablets, and Oakley Willoughby handed over money in return.
‘Shakira and a friend then walked back to Shakira’s house in Pengegon. On the way each of them took three of the ecstasy tablets, blue in colour and named Duplo.
‘When they got back to Shakira’s house the tablets were handed out to other friends, and they took theirs.
‘It wasn’t long before the affects became obvious. Shakira’s friend was physically sick, and the group left the house and went to an area known as “the court” in Pengegon park.’
Other people including Willoughby were there, Mr Beal said, and after a while Shakira began shaking before collapsing on the ground.
An ambulance was called at 10.30pm, and Shakira was taken to Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.
Willoughby accompanied his cousin in the ambulance.
Mr Beal told the court that Willoughby used Shakira’s phone to send a message to her mother, asking her to call him.
On route to the hospital Shakira suffered a cardiac arrest and she died the following morning as a result of multiple organ failure, due to the toxic effects of MDMA use.
Police seized Shakira’s clothing, which contained an MDMA tablet in one of the pockets.
Blue tablets containing a higher than average amount of MDMA were also discovered at Shakira’s home by police.
At 1am Willoughby was arrested at the hospital, and taken to a police custody centre.
He denied buying the tablets from Ward, but agreed he had used Shakira’s phone to contact him about ‘a silent rave in St Day’.
When Willoughby was interviewed again, he denied sending any messages from Shakira’s phone, including the one sent to her mother.
Willoughby will be sentenced tomorrow and Ward on March 13.
Willoughby was bailed until his sentencing hearing, Ward has been on bail throughout.