Mother on trial after son, 20, died as cocaine package burst in Dubai hotel
Jensen Westhead, 20, was found dead in a Dubai hotel after swallowing cocaine packages on a flight from Manchester. His mother Rebecca Hatch faces manslaughter charges.
Mother warned cocaine mule son not to use the toilet mid-flight, jury told
A 45-year-old woman is on trial for manslaughter after her son was found dead in a Dubai hotel room with a burst package of cocaine in his stomach, The Sun reports.
Jensen Westhead, 20, from Thornton-Cleveleys in Lancashire, swallowed the packages before boarding a flight from Manchester to Dubai in December 2024. He was found dead on 5 December in his room at the Avalon Hotel, the day after he arrived.
His mother, Rebecca Hatch, faces charges of manslaughter and drugs offences in connection with his death. She is standing trial alongside four others, including Jensen's stepfather, Glenn Hatch, 51.
Phone messages presented to the court
Prosecutor Jacob Hallam KC told the court that Rebecca and Glenn Hatch had helped Jensen renew his passport and driven him to the airport, allegedly acting as accomplices in the drug smuggling operation.
Mobile phone messages exchanged between Westhead and his mother during the flight were presented to the jury. Westhead told her: "Need a st real bad." Hatch allegedly replied: "FFS don't go for a st now son. Do it as soon as you land. Don't say nothing at all till you land there to no one x."
The prosecution argued this exchange demonstrated Rebecca Hatch's awareness that her son was carrying drugs internally.
Further messages showed Westhead sending his mother photographs of laxatives, to which she reportedly responded with references to duty-free purchases, jurors heard.
Reaction at the family home
Following Westhead's death, Lancashire Police officers travelled to the Hatches' home to deliver the news. Officers reported that Hatch said to her husband: "I told you this would happen, they f*****g left him." When asked to clarify what she meant, she did not respond.
The couple allegedly told officers that Jensen had been travelling alone and planned to meet friends in Dubai, and that they had spoken to him via FaceTime after he checked in.
Hallam told the court: "The prosecution say they weren't being candid about their knowledge of, or involvement in Jensen's travels, nor their knowledge of or involvement in the purpose behind them. He travelled to Dubai in order to smuggle drugs out of this jurisdiction and import them into Dubai. He did that, we say, with the knowing assistance of Rebecca Hatch, Glenn Hatch and the other defendants in the dock."
Five defendants in the dock
The five defendants face a range of charges tied to the alleged smuggling operation. Alexander Tofton, 33, of Lytham St Annes, is accused of operating the UK side of the network. Joseph Watson, 32, of Wednesbury, is alleged to have managed the Dubai end. Steven Stephenson, 48, of Denton, is accused of having supplied Westhead with the drugs.
During the post-mortem examination, fingerprints belonging to Stephenson were found on the drug package recovered from Westhead's body, the court was told.
Investigators also established that Rebecca Hatch's phone had been in contact with Tofton's device, while Glenn Hatch allegedly searched "drug mule meaning" on his phone.
Five days after Westhead's death, Tofton allegedly switched to a new phone and Stephenson carried out a factory reset on his. Police recovered a handwritten note from Tofton's home, believed to refer to Westhead, reading: "Feel sorry, feel responsible for death."
Messages retrieved from Watson's phone read: "I don't know if I can come back to the UK because of that thing with that kid. Like there's a chance I would get nicked."
All defendants deny charges
Rebecca Hatch, Glenn Hatch, Tofton, Watson, and Stephenson all deny manslaughter and being concerned in the exportation of a Class A drug. Tofton has additionally pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to disclose his phone PIN to police.
The trial continues.
Source: The Sun