Man who supplied cousin, 15, with lethal MDMA pills jailed for just 12 months

A man who supplied his cousin with high-strength MDMA pills that killed her has been jailed for just 12 months.

Oakley Willoughby, 18, from Camborne, Cornwall, handed £90 to Joshua Ward, a dealer, before giving the pills to his cousin Shakira Pellow.

Shakira, 15, took the drugs with her friends before collapsing in a park close to her home.

She was rushed to hospital but sadly passed away after multiple cardiac arrests and organ failure on July 6, 2018.

On Monday, Willoughby was found guilty of supplying the Class A drug to his cousin.

Today, he was sentenced to 12 months in a Young Offenders Institution by Judge Simon Carr at Truro Crown Court.

The court heard schoolgirl Shakira had told friends days before her death that she wanted to "get on it" and arranged to buy the pills from Joshua Ward.

But she was "too nervous" and so got her cousin Oakley to approach Ward with the £90 from Shakira and her friends and buy the pills which killed her.

Willoughby had denied possession with intent to supply a Class A drug but was convicted on Monday after a trial.

Ward, now 19, of St Day, Cornwall, had already admitted the same charge and will be sentenced next month.

Willoughby and Ward were 16 and 17 respectively when Shakira died.

Her family released photos of Shakira hooked up to machines in hospital hours before she died.

Issued as a warning to others about the dangers of illegal drugs, they described her as their "beautiful angel".

In an emotional victim impact statement read to the court, Shakira's mum Rita Hole said they had been 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."

Rita, who has had three heart attacks since her daughter's death, said she often wanted to die since but has been given strength to carry on by her other daughters.

"To see my baby girl in that mortuary, all cold, is an image that will never leave my head," she said.

The court heard Shakira contacted Ward via Facebook and text message to buy 15 MDMA pills for herself and her friends.

Shakira asked Ward what pills she was buying, the jury heard, to which he replied: "Duplos — took one last night and they are banging."

But on the night, she got "nervous" and asked her cousin to get them instead.

Willoughby paid Ward £90 and handed the drugs to Shakira, who took three 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 became ill and collapsed.

Shakira was rushed to hospital but died the next morning from multiple organ failure as a result of the toxic effects of the MDMA.

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