The family of a girl who died from a drug overdose reacted furiously in court after a teenager charged following the death was given community service.
Such was the outburst, the judge ordered police to intervene after she felt a threat had been issued.
Laura Porter (19) of Maevemacullen Road, Tandragee admitted possessing the Class A drug MDMA (ecstasy) on May 17, 2017.
This was ”tenuously” linked to the death of Caitlin White (15) who was found unresponsive in woods near Corcrain, Portadown on May 20, 2017.
Death was caused by a drugs overdose, and tests revealed she had taken a blue and yellow “Minion”, which resembled the cartoon characters.
Investigations led to Porter’s arrest and while it was accepted she had not offered the drugs directly, or assist in its consumption, she did have possession of one Minion.
Craigavon Magistrates Court heard following analysis of Porter’s phone, a message read “If anyone wants to buy a Minion I have one only and I want rid of it.”
Defence counsel said: “This was a tragic set of circumstances which has impacted significantly on my client, but she accepts this does not compares to the suffering of the deceased’s family.”
Describing the link to Caitlin’s death as “tenuous”, the defence added, “My client is a fragile, delicate girl. It is rare to have a young girl as a client who has no previous record and comes from a good family. “
District Judge Bernie Kelly stressed no correlation between the defendant and the death of Caitlin, the judge said if that been the case, different charges would have applied.
Imposing a sentence of 120 hours Community Service, Judge Kelly told Porter, “I strongly advise you to learn from this unfortunate and tragic situation. Ensure you never involve yourself again. This was an event of utmost tragedy.”
But members of Caitlin’s family became agitated with a man shouting, “Seriously?”.
A woman broke down and said, “Is that it? I lost my baby. Is that all she got? There is no justice.”
Security staff escorted them from the courtroom, as they continued speaking out in anger.
Given the tension, Judge Kelly said Porter, who wept uncontrollably, should wait until Caitlin’s family had left, to which a relative responded, “That would be a brilliant idea actually” before storming out.
Judge Kelly ordered police to speak with this woman stating, “I think that was a threat.”
