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A second inquest into the death of a mum who took her own life after her benefits were cut will begin on Monday. Jodey Whiting died on February 21, 2017, following the termination of her
Employment Support Allowance (ESA) by the Department of Work and Pensions. The 42-year-old mum had multiple physical and mental illnesses which left her housebound and entirely reliant on
welfare benefits. For five years, Jodey's mother, Joy Dove, fought to have a fresh inquest into the mum-of-nine's death to examine the role of the DWP. It was in March 2023, that
Joy was granted permission for a second inquest when the Court of Appeal ruled that a further inquest was needed in the interests of justice. Joy’s argument that a full investigation was
needed due to new evidence which had come to light since the first inquest was accepted. As previously reported, in May 2017, the first inquest into Jodey's death lasted only 37 minutes
and Joy did not have any legal representation. The coroner refused Joy’s request to consider the DWP’s potential role in Jodey’s decision to take her own life. Now, the second inquest is
listed to take place over the course of three days from Monday, June 2, at Teesside Coroner's Court, in Middlesbrough. Speaking after a pre-inquest review hearing in November 2023, Joy
described Jodey, who lived in Thornaby, as a "lovely" daughter and said she believes Jodey would back her fight for justice. She said the family are hoping for the coroner to agree
that the DWP's actions had a causative role in Jodey's death. "That's what we need recording to prevent further deaths," Joy added. "She was a character she
was a lovely daughter. "I think she'd say to me go for it mam because it will help others. I think she'd say let's get justice for me." During the previous review
hearing , senior coroner Clare Bailey said that the inquest review is a "very important part of the investigation" and said that her focus is to do what is right for Jodey. It also
determined what steps need to be taken in order to have a "full and fearless" inquest. The review decided the relevant material from the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) report
that will be read out in the inquest, and that interested persons should submit their questions to Dr Turner, the expert who will provide a report and will receive Jodey’s GP records for
review. The new evidence includes material from the ICE report, as well as an independent consultant psychiatrist who determined that there was likely to have been a causal link between the
DWP ending Jodey’s ESA and her taking her own life. FOR BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR AREA DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX EVERY DAY, GO HERE TO SIGN UP TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER JOIN TEESSIDE LIVE'S
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