A mum who 'was simply in too much pain' after her son took his own life, killed herself in the same spot six weeks later, an inquest heard. Camille Hardman, 45, was left devastated when in October 2022 her only child, 16-year-old Ethan, was found dead in woodland near to their home, LancsLive reports.
After Ethan's death Camille's partner Richard Benson desperately tried to help Camille but within a matter of days he agreed with her admission to a mental health unit in Ormskirk. Camille, who herself had worked at a suicide prevention team, struggled to overcome the sense of loss of her only child and self-medicated with alcohol as she found it impossible to sleep plagued by visions of her dead son.
A week after Ethan's funeral Richard persuaded her to stay at his home in Leeds for a while but paramedics and police were called on several occasions. Just six weeks after Ethan's death Camille, described as a 'highly intelligent and gregarious' woman, calmly made her way out of her home by the side gate, so as not to be seen, and walked to the woods where Ethan had been found dead. She was found there by police after the alarm was raised by her sister Dana.
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At an inquest held last week, Richard paid tribute to Camille, of Walton-le-Dale., Lancs, in a lengthy statement provided to police. In it he described how she had 'simply been in too much pain' after Ethan's death. "She was a really articulate, bright, funny and gregarious person," Richard said in his statement. "She had lots of challenges and she did have struggles with her mental health but that didn't stop her from leading a full life.
"She had just finished a healthcare management course and she had her graduation ceremony not long before Ethan died. Her son Ethan was her world and the impact of his death on her was extremely challenging.
"She was drinking more than she should and she spent a short period of time in hospital. Within two or three weeks she was drinking every day and she was regularly expressing suicidal intentions and it became so unmanageable she was detained under the Mental Health Act prior to Ethan's funeral.
"She was discharged to the Home Treatment Team the day before the funeral. After Ethan's funeral she acknowledged the need to stop drinking. Her mental health was extremely fragile."
After Camille was found dead, on December 8 last year, a search of her property revealed several photos of Ethan scattered on the sofa. A note found inside her home suggested that she planned to take her own life.
"It was clear in the note she had thought carefully about what she was going to do," Richard added. "She was simply in too much pain and couldn't imagine living without her son."
At the conclusion of the inquest the coroner spoke at length about the devastating repercussions of suicide and praised Richard and Camille's family for their bravery. She added: "Suicide tears lives apart and sends shockwaves through families and communities. The world is never a better place through the loss of any life through suicide."
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