‘NO ONE ELSE INVOLVED IN GAIA’S DEATH’
Postmortem on tragic teen as mum tells of pain
NOBODY else was involved in the death of tragic teenager Gaia Pope, police said last night.
The 19-year-old’s body was found in a field on Saturday after a major search, 11 days after she disappeared.
Detective Superintendent Paul Kessell of Dorset Police said: “The postmortem examination has not identified any injuries to suggest any other person was involved in her death. The cause of death is undetermined pending toxicology.
“The coroner is involved in the oversight of these examinations but at this time this remains an investigation into an unexplained death.”
Speaking for the first time since police confirmed they had found a body, mum Natasha told the Mirror: “The world is a darker place without my Gaia.”
And Gaia’s twin sister Maya posted: “Can’t find any words right now. Gaia is my everything and I am heartbroken. I thank everyone who was involved in searching for my beautiful twin.”
But Gaia’s cousin Marienna PopeWeidemann vowed to get “justice”.
JUSTICE
She wrote on Facebook: “My beautiful baby girl, so sunny and kind but tough as f***. We hold you in our hearts forever. You will have justice. #JusticeForGaia.” Gaia’s body had not been formally identified last night but Dorset Police said they were confident it was her. The remains were found at 3pm on Saturday by specialist search teams south of Swanage. The site was close to where clothing identified as Gaia’s was found on Thursday. Floral tributes were left on the Alfred Monument, next to the seafront yesterday. One card said: “Our hopes now replaced with sadness, may you rest in peace Gaia, this town will never forget you xx.” Gaia, from nearby Langton Matrivers, was last seen in CCTV footage running towards the home of Rosemary Dinch, 71, who claims to be the last person to have seen her. Ms Dinch, her son Paul, 49, and grandson Nathan, 19, were arrested on suspicion of murder last week then released under investigation. Rosemary’s ex-husband Greg Elsey – father to Paul – said: “Our heart goes out to Gaia’s family.” Talking of the police operation, he added: “It feels like they arrested Paul just to look like they were doing something. We will take action for wrongful arrest. This has ruined their lives. Mud sticks, doesn’t it.”