A teenage boy has been arrested over the death of a 15-year-old girl amid fears that she overdosed on an Ecstasy-type drug at a birthday party.
Rose Farley became ill at the celebration on Friday evening and was taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, on Merseyside, where she died in the early hours.
Friends suggested that the teenager collapsed after her drink had been spiked during the party at a social club near her home in the West Derby area of Liverpool. She was able to return home after becoming ill but was rushed to hospital when she collapsed later.
Merseyside Police were questioning a 16-year-old boy last night on suspicion of supplying drugs. The death comes only days after police warned young people of a new strain of dangerous Ecstasy circulating in the area.
It is understood that the dead girl’s father is Chris Farley, a former nightclub owner. His wife, Kelly, is her stepmother. The couple are friends of Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool FC and England footballer, and his wife, Alex.
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Rose lived with her mother, Lyn, in West Derby, Liverpool.
On Friday the teenager sent a last Twitter message about how much she had been looking forward to the party. “Aw, dead excited about the party,” she tweeted.
An initial post-mortem examination proved inconclusive and police officers are awaiting the results of toxicology tests.
A spokesman for Merseyside Police would confirm only that the teenager’s death was being treated as “unexplained”.
He said: “A 16-year-old man from the Liverpool area has also been arrested on suspicion of supplying controlled substances as part of the ongoing investigation. He is currently in police custody and being questioned by officers.”
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Last week Merseyside Police issued a warning that a new and potentially deadly form of Ecstasy — in the form of a pink tablet ��� was being distributed in the region.
They are known as “pink McDonald’s” because many tablets are stamped with the letter “M”.
The tablets are said to take longer to achieve the same kind of highs as similar drugs and thus raise the risk that users will increase their dose.
Detective Superintendent Tim Keelan said: “The implication that this may be drug-related is just one of the lines of inquiry that our comprehensive inquiry is looking at.
“I would like to take the opportunity to warn people about the dangers of taking illegal substances. The effects of drugs are not always immediately apparent or can be delayed. This can sometimes result in people taking more in order to speed up the effects.
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“This can have devastating results, one of which can be death.”
Merseyside Police issued the warning about a new strain of Ecstasy after the deaths of two men in 24 hours in Cambridgeshire last week. A man also died in similar circumstances in Bournemouth, Dorset, on May 21.
Assistant Chief Constable Andy Ward said that criminals in Merseyside were supplying the pink Ecstasy, which was ending up in the hands of young people across Britain.
A tribute page set up for Rose on Facebook has been viewed more than 4,500 times. Paisley Bretherton wrote: “r.i.p rose its so sad what happened to u, u had ur whole life ahead off u my thoughts are with your family xx.”
Annemarie Taylor said: “thinking of all the family so so sorry to hear your very sad news r.i.p rose life is just so unfair the whole community is absolutely devastated xxxx.”