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Terri Smith |
Tragedy of 'happy girl loved by all'
Trainee hairdresser took own
life
A TRAINEE hairdresser under hospital care after taking
an overdose jumped in front of a Tube train, an inquest has
heard.
Terri Louise Smith, 21, told a nurse at the Royal Free Hospital
in Hampstead she was going out to buy a newspaper.
Instead she bought a single train ticket, walked to the end
of the platform, let one train pass and took a running jump
in front of the next, the St Pancras inquest was told on Thursday.
Ms Smith, of Weedington Road, Kentish Town, died two months
after being admitted as a voluntary patient at the Camden and
Islington Mental Health Trust unit at the hospital, following
a suicide attempt. She left a note apologising to her mother,
sister and friends.
Witnesses described seeing Ms Smith take a couple of steps back,
then leap in front of the northbound Northern line train at
Hampstead station on March 8 last year.
A former pupil at Maria Fidelis School in Somers Town, she had
a history of depression and had also attempted suicide three
years earlier.
Kay Lane, of British Transport Police, read out a statement
on behalf of witness Natalie Courtney, who was too distressed
to attend the hearing. Ms Courtney, who was waiting for a train
to work, said: “A lady walked past me and continued to
the end of the platform. She walked with her head down.
“A few minutes later I heard a train. I noticed the lady
in my peripheral vision start to walk but then I saw she started
to run and she jumped into the air. At this point I knew what
was going to happen so I looked away.”
Train driver Zakariya Piprawala said: “I saw a girl at
the end of the platform. She took a step back. I didn’t
take much notice of this. She began to run forward and in front
of the train.”
GP Dr Gillian Allison, of Four Trees Surgery in Kentish Town,
told the inquest Ms Smith suffered from insomnia, depression
and had admitted suicidal feelings.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Anne Bird said: “She told us
she had been depressed on and off for a five-year period for
a number of reasons. I later learned there were a number of
problems with her relationships which she didn’t share
with psychologists and doctors. There were things she kept deep
inside her.”
Ms Smith would sometimes go out for the day with friends but
always returned to the ward. Dr Bird said: “She had her
ups and downs, her mood was quite variable.”
Speaking after the inquest, Ms Smith’s mother Moira said:
“She was a happy girl and everyone loved her. She liked
going out to the Electric Ballroom with her friends, listening
to R ’n’ B and having a drink and a laugh.”
Verdict: Suicide |
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