British Embassy lied over death of girl in Argentina, say parents

The parents of a woman who died in suspicious circumstances in South America have accused the British Government of lying to them over her death.

Laura Hill, 25, died in Buenos Aires in October 2007 and her parents were told by British consular officials in Argentina that death was due to natural causes.

But a post-mortem conducted on the day of her death revealed extensive injuries on her body and indicated a possible sexual assault. However, the results of the examination were not handed over to her parents until seven weeks later.

A toxicology test was also conducted by the Argentinian authorities which showed that Laura had consumed a lethal dose of cocaine. But this vital information was not given to the parents until after Laura’s body had been repatriated in December. Her parents, Alison and Kevin Hill, believe she was murdered and are now considering legal action against the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

‘The British Embassy in Argentina repeatedly gave us wrong information,’ said Mrs Hill.

‘I put all my faith in our Government and they just lied to us. If we’d been told all this from the outset, we’d have immediately flown out to Argentina to try to find out what really happened.’

Laura, a dental nurse in Croydon, South London, had gone to Argentina with a boyfriend, whom her parents didn’t know, without telling her family or friends. The man has not been traced and the Hills have appealed for him to come forward.

To add to the parents’ agony, a second post-mortem, performed by Home Office forensic pathologists in January, revealed that many of Laura’s organs, including her brain and heart, had been removed for the toxicology tests and then destroyed.

The Argentinian police did not treat Laura’s death as suspicious and little or no attempt was made to trace her travelling companions.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: ‘We based our information on what we were told by the Argentinian authorities and this is what we passed on to the parents.’

Eastbourne MP Nigel Waterson, who is supporting the Hills’ search for the truth, said: ‘There now needs to be a proper investigation and a proper inquest.’