Star pupil, 18, who took own life was still clutching teddy bear when body was found horrible what s
Culled from Metro
A star pupil who took her own life in her bedroom was found dead slumped against the wall still clutching a teddy bear.
Alisha Watts, 18, had struggled with violent mood swings and low moods, and an inquest heard how the ‘beautiful and loved’ school girl resorted to taking her own life.
The 18 year old was a top pupil at the prestigious Kendrick School in Reading, Berkshire.
Assistant coroner for Berkshire Alison McCormick described the suicide as one that ‘suggests that this was a careful and meticulously planned suicide.’
The inquest heard how the 18-year-old Alisha Watts had been found by her long time social worker, Leanne Palethorpe, who had grown concerned about a series of emails that had been left for her by Ms Watts the night before.
Man pretending to be cop after stealing uniform and bike from police station In the emails, Alisha detailed how she was feeling the ‘worst she had felt in a long time’, as well as leaving a message thanking Ms Palethorpe for all she had done and being so kind to her.
Ms Palethorpe rushed to Alisha’s home only to discover the teenager slumped against the wall.
A playlist titled ‘suicide’ was playing out on her computer.
In a statement read out to proceedings, police constable Christopher Healey detailed how she was clutching a teddy bear and had left detailed notes to her friends and family pinned to the wardrobe.
The 18 year old was a top pupil at the prestigious Kendrick School in Reading, Berkshire (Picture: INS News Agency Ltd)
The coroner heard how Alisha had been repeatedly in and out of care facilities from the age of 15, after her mum had become increasingly worried about her repeated claims of feeling suicidal.
Between the ages of 15 and 18 when she moved between multiple care units and services, including from Southampton Priory to Prospect Park hospital, before being settled at a supported living facility in Calver Close, Reading.
In an emotional statement Leanne Palethorpe said: ‘Alisha was very, very easy to engage, she would contact me all the time and she felt it was helpful to email me late at night when she was having issues.
‘She had started to become a lot more positive, she told me she could see a way out, she could see her future and sh was making plans for her future.
‘She would often tell me that she just wanted to be a normal girl in a normal life.
‘Her risk assessments were very difficult because here emotions would swing so wildly, the assessments were only relevant for the times they were done, but she could change within the hour.
My view: It's so sad, she didn't want to die, but the mental illness just stressed her out oververwhelmed with anxiety and vulnerability, maybe she found everything just unbearable. Mental illnesses are, by their very nature, disruptive to a person's life, it's horrible what she went through.