Pair sentenced for drug supply after teenager died

Two young men have been given custodial sentences for supplying ecstasy to a group of teenagers, including a 16-year-old schoolgirl who died after collapsing in a nightclub.

James Greaves, 19, of Hatt in Cornwall, was sentenced to three and a half years in a young offender institution with Taylor Rowsell, 18, of Rosebery Road in Exmouth, Devon handed a two-year sentence.

Lucy Hill, 16, died in December 2022 after taking MDMA and collapsing at the Move nightclub on Exeter Quay.

Greaves and Rowsell were under 18 at the time of the offences, and both pleaded guilty at Exeter Crown Court to jointly supplying the drug.

The court heard how Greaves had emptied prescription pill capsules and refilled them with MDMA before resealing them.

He then supplied the tablets in different sizes and colours to Rowsell for £200.

The court heard Rowsell had been contacted by a teenage girl who asked for MDMA but was unable to supply her himself, so called Greaves who had drug supply links to Devon.

Ms Hill and five friends had taken a taxi into Exeter from her home in Exmouth to go to the Move nightclub.

They took the pills but all soon became ill and felt dizzy.

The court heard they all "felt bad" on the dance floor before club staff took Ms Hill outside and called an ambulance.

Police arrested both Rowsell and Greaves the morning after.

Judge James Adkin told the two teenagers: "You were both active class A drug dealers."

He added Rowsell acted out of "simple greed for money" that was "greater than your concern for any customer".

He said: "Rowsell was in business for himself. He was in it for money and status.

"The business had been going on for months. That night alone he sold 35 and intended to sell many more.

"He was selling to children, targeting youngsters at a nightclub where no alcohol was available, it was purely for children and was a dry evening."

He added: "Lucy Hill died because you sold her drugs, you sold her two tablets, despite the fact that you were concerned about the dosage.

"It seems to me you were simply greedy, and your greed for money was greater than your concern for any customer."

Ms Hill's mother Deborah Hill told the court her daughter was "kind and caring" and their "lives will never be the same again".

Her family called her the "perfect angel".

Defence barristers for both Greaves and Rowsell said Ms Hill's death "weighs heavily" on them.

Det Insp Sally Johns, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said Ms Hill was "not a routine drug user" but a "young girl embarking on life, looking forward to the future ahead of her".

She said: "That evening an error of judgement in young minds, led to Lucy’s future being cut so tragically short.

"This could be the case for anyone’s child or young adult.

“We have seen that these substances can kill many times, and this is another tragic case.

"I urge anyone considering taking drugs to think twice and reconsider."