The mother of a 12-year-old girl who took a fatal overdose after making a rape allegation has said “failures” of agencies involved in her care were not acknowledged at her inquest. Semina Halliwell died in hospital on June 12 2021 following an overdose of prescription medication taken at the family home in Southport, Merseyside, on June 9, months after she reported she had been sexually assaulted by an older boy.
On Thursday, coroner Johanna Thompson recorded a short narrative conclusion to her inquest. She said: “Semina Halliwell had a complex social history. Her death arose as a consequence of taking an overdose of her mother’s prescription medication whilst in a state of distress and her intent at that time is unknown.”. The coroner said she concluded from the evidence that Semina was “highly vulnerable” but she did not agree with submissions from the family that Merseyside Police, Semina’s school, health trusts and Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council had breached their operational duties to her, meaning the inquest could engage Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
She said: “The evidence has not revealed to me any indication that a real and immediate risk to Semina’s life was known to any of the state agencies at any relevant point in time which would have made her death preventable.”. Speaking after the hearing, Semina’s mother Rachel Halliwell said: “I’m feeling a deep range of emotions, an enormous dissatisfaction that failures by the agencies involved in Semina’s care have not been acknowledged.
“What I wanted to hear was a finding of the failures that I see in all of the agencies’ interactions with Semina and recommendations and improvements being made so that further tragedies cannot be allowed to happen in the future. “My pain continues as I believe that Semina was betrayed by those responsible to help protect her and I hope for some acknowledgement of this for me and my family and because personally I will never stop believing that this was the case.
“I believe it was as a consequence of these agencies’ failures that my precious daughter is no longer with me.”. Ms Halliwell said she was considering taking civil action because she wanted “accountability” for mistakes made. The inquest, which was held at Bootle Town Hall for six days last month, heard that in March 2021, Semina told her mother she had been sexually assaulted by an older boy in January that year.
The boy had been messaging her online since the previous summer, the hearing was told. Ms Halliwell said the incident “destroyed” Semina, who had been self-harming in the year before her death. She reported the allegation to police, but said after officers came to speak to Semina she “felt like she wasn’t believed”. Ms Halliwell said: “I think to say to a 12-year-old child ‘it is going to take 18 months to two years to go to court, do you really want it hanging over your head’ and ‘it’s your word against his’ is not what any woman or child who has been through sexual assault or rape needs to hear, and she was 12 with autism.”.
She said she believed Semina would still be alive if there had been more support. Detective Constable Chris Loughead told the inquest Semina’s allegation had been taken “very seriously”. Semina withdrew her complaint but later decided to pursue it and was due to have a video interview on June 10, the court heard. The inquest was told police officers had visited the home on June 8 following a separate complaint and Semina had gone upstairs after saying: “I’ve had enough of this.”.
She was later found by her brother and taken to hospital. The family alleged police had shown a “lack of care, respect, dignity, diligence and humanity” to Semina and had failed to recognise a continuing risk to her life. The coroner said: “Whilst their initial attendance was perceived by Semina and her family as unprofessional and uncaring, it was not conducted with any impropriety on behalf of the officers.”.
