One life lost... two lives ruined
TEENAGER’S MOTHER TELLS HOW HER WORLD FELL APART
A BANK worker has been jailed after his friend died from taking an ecstasy tablet which he supplied.
Liam Longstaff had been at a house in Sunniside, Gateshead, to celebrate his friend Liam Oliver turning 19 when he gave him a “stronger than usual” dose of the drug as a birthday present, a court heard.
The 22-year-old claimed he’d got the tablets from Amsterdam before supplying Mr Oliver with one, despite knowing he’d never taken ecstasy before, prosecutors said.
During the next few hours, Mr Oliver took an “extreme and adverse” reaction to the MDMA and was seen by Longstaff and the rest of their group of friends to “sweat profusely, slur his words, turn red and protrude his jaw”.
He was given water, taken outside for fresh air and eventually put to bed by his concerned pals on the night of August 13, 2016.
However, Mr Oliver was found collapsed in the street outside the house in the early hours of the following morning and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
A post-mortem revealed he died from the “toxicity of MDMA”, which is the active substance in ecstasy.
Afterwards, Longstaff, of Church Street, Marley Hill, Gateshead, tried to hide the rest of the drugs in the garden of the property and “repeatedly lied” to the police about supplying Mr Oliver with the tablet.
Instead, he told officers Mr Oliver had helped himself to the pill without his permission.
But on the day he was due to stand trial at Newcastle Crown Court, Longstaff pleaded guilty to three counts of supplying a class A drug and one of possessing it with intent to supply.
Locking him up for three years and two months, Judge Amanda Rippon said no sentence she could pass would ease the pain suffered by Mr Oliver’s family.
“The death of Liam Oliver is an aggravating factor here,” Judge Rippon said. “The attempt to dispose of the evidence is a further one. Your knowledge, based on your own use of the drug, that this batch was strong and that Liam hadn’t taken it before is also aggravating.
“You also knew that he was asthmatic and drunk.”
The court was told that Longstaff and Mr Oliver were at the home of the latter’s friend Josh Sherwin, along with two girls, on Plenmeller Place, in Sunniside.
Mark Guiliani, prosecuting, said: “Before the girls arrived, the defendant told Josh Sherwin and Liam Oliver that he had ecstasy tablets from Amsterdam and he removed a see-through plastic bag from his jacket and Josh Sherwin said there were red Coca Cola bottle tablets and blue tesla tablets.”
At that stage, Longstaff put the pills away again and the group carried out chatting and drinking alcohol.
However, Mr Oliver later asked Longstaff on “several occasions” if he could have a tablet as “it was his birthday”, the court heard.
Mr Guiliani added: “Josh Sherwin repeatedly told Liam Oliver not to take one as he knew Liam hadn’t taken one before and he was concerned.
“Despite that, the defendant put his hand in his bag and pulled out a blue tablet and gave it to Liam, saying ‘Here you go, bruv, for your birthday.’
“The ecstasy tablet was stronger than usual. It contained more of the active substance of MDMA. Liam took the tablet.”
Soon after taking the drug, Mr Oliver began to suffer an “extreme and adverse” reaction.
The court heard that he began to show the “classic signs” of a reaction to MDMA by sweating profusely, slurring his words, protruding his jaw and chattering his teeth.
Concerned for their friend, Mr Sherwin and the two girls took Mr Oliver to bed before they all took him outside for a walk to get some fresh air.
During the next few hours, Mr Oliver went into Mr Sherwin’s room and asked for help and they got him a glass of water before returning to bed.
However, at 5.30am Mr Sherwin woke up and looked outside, where he saw Mr Oliver lying “star-fished” on his back in the street.
Police and paramedics were called and Longstaff was initially spoken to as a witness until the bag of ecstasy tablets were found hidden in the garden of the property.
In interview, he told officers that he had not given Mr Oliver the tablet and that he had helped himself to it when he wasn’t looking.
Longstaff repeatedly changed his story of what happened until he finally pleaded guilty to the four charges, despite initially denying them.
In an emotional statement read to the court, Mr Oliver’s mum Claire said her life had been shattered by his death and none of the family would be the same again.
She said: “August 13, 2016 was my son Liam’s 19th birthday. This is the last day I saw my son.
“He went out for his birthday with friends. As he left, he gave me a hug and said ‘Love you, see you tomorrow’ as he always did when he went out.
“On August 14 at 7.30am, my whole world fell apart. I had a knock at the door to say my beautiful boy had died. I did not want to believe what I was hearing – not my son, it must be the wrong person. I kept telling myself it can’t be my Liam – they have got it wrong. I had to go to the hospital to see my son. Seeing my son lying in a hospital bed was so upsetting, devastating and souldestroying.”
The court was told that, as well as supplying Mr Oliver with the drug, Longstaff also admitted supplying it to another friend and to “unknown people” over a two-week period.
Christopher Knox, mitigating, said Longstaff had been devastated by the loss of his friend and had suffered with a “depressive disorder” since.