6. The Inquest

Listen to this episode from Marianna in Conspiracyland on Spotify. Can Coroners' courts cope with conspiracy? It’s been more than a year since Paloma Shemirani died after rejecting chemotherapy in favour of alternative methods. Her brother Gabriel blames the beliefs of their mum Kate - who is a prominent British conspiracy theorist - for his sister’s death. This summer, he’s found himself face to face with his mum for the first time since Paloma died at an inquest into how and why she lost her life. After investigating - and revealing - what happened to Paloma for the first time almost four months ago, the BBC’s social media investigations correspondent Marianna Spring is back following the twists and turns of an inquest that has felt like Conspiracyland colliding with the real world. In the coroner’s court she see’s medics questioned by conspiracy theorists and tense family feuds unfolding in real-time. Could Paloma have been saved? And can society handle Conspiracyland?