The dad of a tragic carer who fell to her death from the fire escape of a nightclub, died just hours after laying his daughter to rest.
An inquest heard yesterday (March 8) that Katie Davenport had jumped from a fire escape at Hey Amigos nightclub in Southport after getting into an "altercation" during a night out with work colleagues. The carer was placed on the fire escape by a door supervisor at around 2am on Sunday, September 4, but when he turned to check if she and her friend had left, he could only watch as she jumped from the balcony.
The 23-year-old, described as having an infectious laugh, suffered traumatic brain injuries and underwent brain surgery at The Walton Centre. Katie died 13 days after the incident on Saturday, September 13, with her boyfriend Niall by her side. Senior coroner Julie Goulding gave a narrative conclusion and said Katie died as a result of significant brain injuries with "insufficient evidence she wanted to take her own life".
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In a moving statement from her sister Lianne Clegg on behalf of the family and her boyfriend Niall, she said: "I can't even begin to describe the pain and heartache we have gone through since losing our beautiful Katie. She was the most beautiful, funniest girl with the most infectious laugh.
"Katie had struggled with her mental health over the years but reached out for help and along with the help and support of her partner Niall had got to a place in her life where she was confident, outgoing and loving life. She had recently passed her driving test, saving up for a mortgage, booked a holiday and got a second job in health care - a job she adored doing.
"She worked extremely hard she was motivated and determined to save as much money as she could to live a happy and comfortable life. I have sat for months and months and tried to put together the night's events, this has been painful and difficult and most of all frustrating, the impact this has had on our family has been devastating, not only losing Katie we also lost her dad a few weeks later after he took an epileptic fit the night of her funeral and sadly passed away.
"I have been to the fire escape of Hey Amigos, spoke with the staff that was working that night and also spoke with the people she was out with.
"I, along with other family members, received a Snapchat from Katie 20 minutes before the accident, she was happy, dancing and laughing on the dance floor of Hey Amigos showing no signs of distress or upset. Her partner Niall was in contact with her via messages all night messages that show she was not upset or distressed and, in fact, having a really good night out with her work colleagues, a rare night out as Katie very rarely drank or socialised as said before only recently had the confidence to start going out."
Katie's funeral took place at West Lancashire Cemetery and Crematorium on October 14, a month after her death, with her dad suffering an epileptic fit just hours after the service.
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