DETECTIVES have quizzed the boyfriend of Herefordshire student Rachel Whitear who was found dead in her bedsit three years ago.

Luke Fitzgerald, aged 28, was questioned about the events that led to the tragic death of the 21-year-old in May 2000.

It was originally thought Miss Whitear, a heroin addict from Ledbury, died from an overdose after her landlord found her decomposing body slumped on the floor of her Exmouth flat with a syringe in her hand.

Her parents, Mick and Pauline Holcroft, who still live in Ledbury, decided to release shocking police pictures of her body in a bid to warn others of the dangers of drugs.

However, the case was reopened in May amid concerns about the way it was investigated by Devon and Cornwall police.

A post mortem examination was not carried out after her death because police assumed she had died from a heroin overdose, even though the cap on the needle had been replaced.

Inquest

At an inquest into Miss Whitear's death, a coroner recorded an open verdict after a toxicology report revealed the level of drug in her body was too low to have killed her.

Wiltshire Constabulary has now taken over the inquiry after Devon and Cornwall police voluntarily referred the matter to the Police Complaints Authority.

It is understood Mr Fitzgerald, and another man who has not been named, were questioned by Wiltshire detectives last week.

Mr Fitzgerald, who grew up in Hereford, and the other man, have since been released without charge.

Officers have been trying to establish whether Miss Whitear was alone when she died and if someone else could have administered an injection of heroin.

Mrs Holcroft, speaking from the family home, said she did not wish to speak about the arrests.

"It's a very difficult time for us," she said. "Wiltshire police are keeping us informed."