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`Will I ever find out how my girl died?'

From the Telegraph & Argus, first published Tuesday 2nd Oct 2001.

A mother's two-year battle to find the truth about her daughter's death has been delayed a sixth time after a legal wrangle.

An inquest into the death of 30-year-old Kelly Pearson was due to have started in London tomorrow but has now been postponed until next spring.

Kelly's mother Jean Pearson has fought for the last two years to find out why her daughter died alone in a pile of rubbish in London.

Mrs Pearson said she had hoped the hearing would provide the answers.

But yesterday a group called Inquest, which is helping her, said the hearing had been put off for the sixth time since Kelly's death on November 10, 1999.

Mrs Pearson, 55, said: "It's so disheartening. Each time I get myself all prepared and then it's postponed and I get ill with depression.

"Each time these people come up with a different excuse to postpone the hearing and it makes you wonder if the truth will ever come out."

Mrs Pearson, of Norwood Avenue, Shipley claims Kelly was taken to London from Bradford in 1999 on an out-of-date arrest warrant and, when the mistake was realised, she says her daughter was turfed out on to the streets with no money and no way of returning home.

"I've been on this roller coaster for the past two years," said Mrs Pearson.

"The one thing I wanted was to get the hearing out of the way before the anniversary of Kelly's death, but now I've got to keep on coping with the nightmares."

Gilly Mundy, Mrs Pearson's Inquest caseworker, said the coroner had delayed the hearing after being told the team did not have all the documents it had requested.

He said: "Inquest is distressed that all the matters regarding the scope of the inquest and disclosure of documents could not be resolved and that has apparently resulted in the adjournment.

"We hope this can be resolved as soon as possible. The decision to adjourn has clearly upset Jean.

"Inquest and Jean's legal team will do all we can to ensure all the relevant issues that contributed to Kelly's care and subsequent death are fully examined and brought to the coroner's attention."

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