‘Tash’ Ashby death could yet lead to homicide inquiry

The death of a troubled young woman in a tent in Hereford nearly three years ago could yet lead to a homicide inquiry, a court has heard.

Natasha ‘Tash’ Ashby was found dead near the Country Bus Station off Commercial Road in the city in August 2023, with a post-mortem examination giving the cause of her death as heroin toxicity – though it was questioned whether she could have administered this herself.

The 21-year-old had been in care since the age of nine, living with foster parents and then in supported housing, and was described as having the mental capacity of an eight-year-old.

A planned inquest into her death has been preceded by several pre-inquest review hearings, the most recent being on June 18 at the city’s Gardner Hall.

County coroner James Bennett told the court that a further four weeks was needed before a “substantive review” of the case by a senior West Mercia Police officer will be released.

The force’s solicitor Mark Thomas confirmed the DCI Gareth Lougher is conducting this, but has been “pulled away” from it “as he is conducting other murder investigations”.

Asked by Mr Bennett where the police review was going, Mr Thomas said he did not know “whether a homicide investigation was under way… or whether it becomes one”.

“But that is potentially a foreseeable outcome,” he said.

Ciara Bartlam, solicitor for Tash’s family, said it had never been clear to them “whether this is a homicide investigation” – which would affect how the inquest would progress, including what information could be disclosed.

Mr Bennett said that if this is the course of action that the police take, “the inquest won’t be taking place in April of next year”.

Currently a “substantive” pre-inquest review hearing is due to be held in November, ahead of the four-week full inquest scheduled for April.

At a previous review hearing in February, Mr Bennett said the fact that fresh information on the case was still coming to light, including a voicemail sent by Tash to her sister shortly before her death, was “massively frustrating”, and meant the full inquiry could not proceed in March of this year as intended.