Hanged herself: Jennifer Fry was still deeply upset over her classmate's suicide a year earlier when she ended her own life in woodland in Oxfordshire
Jennifer Fry was still very upset over classmate Tom Boomer's suicide
She ended her own life near home village of Chadlington, Oxfordshire
Coroner says she took her own life but recorded narrative verdict
Jennifer Fry was still deeply upset over classmate Tom Boomer’s suicide a year earlier when she ended her own life near her home village of Chadlington in Oxfordshire.
She was found dead wearing her school uniform by her mother Debbie in woodland - six months after she had written her first suicide note, Oxford Coroner’s Court was told.
The inquest heard Tom, her friend at Chipping Norton School, killed himself in March 2014, ten days after receiving anti-depressants because he was struggling to cope after moving schools.
Despite a reported improvement in his mood in the days before his death, he threw himself off the car park aged 14, hours after texting a friend that he was ‘constantly contemplating suicide’.
Today’s inquest heard that officers found Jenny had also sent two suicidal texts to friends, telling them of her plans to harm herself in the woods.
And it was told police converged on her family home in November 2014 because she made suicidal threats over social media websites.
The court heard that concerned staff at her school had contacted her family on a morning in June this year when she did not arrive for lessons.
Her mother then made the tragic discovery at about 4.30pm. Detectives called to Brooke Forest also found the mobile phone and schoolbag belonging to the teenager, known as Jenny.
Pictured as a child: Her mother said that when she found Jenny hanging in woodland in Oxfordshire she thought she was still alive and talked to her before realising what had happened
In her schoolbag they found a knife and a suicide note which made reference to another note on her computer.
Detectives later discovered she had written the digital suicide note six months earlier in December last year. After Jenny’s body was found, ambulance crews attended and confirmed her death.
An initial police report said that there were no suspicious circumstances, while a post mortem examination then confirmed death by hanging.
Speaking at the inquest, Mrs Fry said that when she found Jenny she thought she was still alive and talked to her before realising what had happened.
The inquest heard evidence that in November 2014 police were called to the family home because of threats Jenny had made to end her life.
Mrs Fry said: ‘She made threats to commit suicide over social media. She was depressed by the death of her friend Tom.’
Struggled to cope: Tom Boomer, her friend at Chipping Norton School, who killed himself in 2014
Last year concerned friends had contacted Thames Valley Police because of Jenny’s suicidal messages on social media.
Officers left the schoolgirl in the care of her parents with the advice that they should contact either the family’s GP or the children and young adult mental health service.
Coroner Darren Salter said he was very surprised that neither of her parents took up the advice and there was no evidence by her GP that she had been feeling low or depressed.
But her mother said she did not take her daughter to a GP despite police advice because she was worried she would be admitted to a psychiatric hospital, or given medication which had not worked for Tom.
Mrs Fry revealed on the day of her daughter’s death she had had an ‘instinctive feeling’ that something was wrong when she left the house.
She added: ‘Then I had two voicemails from the school later that day saying that she had not turned up to school. I found out she had sent two texts saying she wanted to hurt herself and the last time she was seen was by her sister Emma, running into the woods.
‘When I saw her I thought she was still alive. I tried talking to her and when I moved around her I could see what had happened.’
The coroner recorded a verdict of suicide but minutes later retracted it because the family argued that Jenny had sent texts telling friends her location so that she could be found and stopped.
Instead giving a narrative verdict, Mr Salter acknowledged the teenager had taken her own life but could not be sure of her intentions.
When I saw her I thought she was still alive. I tried talking to her and when I moved around her I could see what had happened
Debbie Fry, mother
He said: ‘I am not entirely convinced that it was a cry for attention or help but I cannot rule it out. I am not going to return a verdict of suicide.
‘My narrative conclusion is that on June 11 she hanged herself. She sent texts warning of her proposed actions and gave her location. It cannot be demonstrated to the required standard of proof that she intended to take her own life.’
Both her parents also argued that Jenny’s suicidal ideation was the result of radiation poisoning because of Wi-Fi in the home and at school.
Mrs Fry said her daughter had ‘classic’ symptoms of being sensitive to electromagnetic fields but was unable to produce any medical evidence that her daughter had suffered.
Daily Mail UK
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