Hours before she disappeared, Pope, 19, said she thought she was pregnant and had broken up with her boyfriend before breaking out in “rotten weather” without her coat, according to the jury. The court was informed that Pope was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after she complained that she was raped at the age of 16. Shortly before she disappeared, a man had sent her obscene images, which caused flashbacks and concern. On the third day of her investigation in Bournemouth, Dr. Russell Dilleney, a State Department physician, said Pope had a history of mental health problems and epilepsy. She said that on the afternoon of her disappearance, on November 7, 2017, she started behaving “irrationally” at a friend’s house in her hometown, Swanage, and revealed that she thought she was pregnant, although a test the day before had turned out negative. She also said that she divorced her boyfriend, started acting in an “intensely sexual way” and undressed. Someone persuaded her to put on her clothes again and she ran away. Delaney said a member of the public found items of her clothing on Nov. 16 in a field about a mile from where she was last seen and near “deep in the undergrowth” where her naked body was finally found on Nov. 18. . The doctor said she suffered minimal visible external injuries other than scratches on her torso and legs which were most likely caused by gorges and rocks. Delaney said these could have been caused if she had punctured or fallen into the undergrowth. An internal examination found evidence that he had died of hypothermia, the court said. Delaney said Pope may have suffered a mental health episode and took off her clothes on top of the rock, causing her to catch a cold and rain and suffer from hypothermia. There was also the possibility of a phenomenon called “paradoxical undressing” in which a person suffering from hypothermia begins to take off clothes because the brain confuses the feeling of coldness with warmth. The doctor told the jury Pope may have exhibited a behavior called “hide and die”, which is believed to be a primitive response to hypothermia and may involve “piercing” indoors. The court was told Pope had five to 10 seizures a day at some point, but Delaney said she could not say if she had a seizure shortly before she died. Asked about the balance of chances if epilepsy played a role in her death, he replied: “I do not think it is possible to say one way or another. He may or may not have done it. “ Delaney said the death may have taken several hours, but he could not specify an exact time. She also said it was not possible to say when she died – only that several days passed before her body was discovered. But he said the characteristics of some of the scratches suggest he died shortly after the scratches. The doctor said she had been informed by police that Pope was going to see her doctor at 5pm the day she disappeared and said a relative had called police at 6.18pm. Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, representing members of the Pope’s family, said he had been informed in court that police had been called by a member of the teen’s family at 3.42pm. Delaney said police had not told him that. Nor was he told that Pope was going to meet the police for the obscene pictures they had sent her or that her family was worried that she had disappeared without her medication. The investigation continues.

In the UK and Ireland, you can contact the Samaritans at 116 123 or email [email protected] or [email protected] In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, Lifeline Crisis Support is 13 11 14. You can find other international helplines at www.befrienders.org.

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