A man said his partner took her own life as she "simply been in too much pain" following the death of her son.
Richard Benson sat bravely in coroner's court this week where he listened to the circumstances leading up to the death of his partner Camille Hardman. Her son, Ethan Hardman, was found dead in woodland near to their home in Walton-le-Dale in October 2022, reports LancsLive.
The "highly intelligent and gregarious" mum was devastated following the 16-year-old's death. After Ethan's death, Richard tried to help Camille, but a few days later he agreed with her admission to a mental health unit in Ormskirk.
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Camille struggled to overcome the loss of her only child and self medicated with alcohol. She also found it impossible to sleep as she was plagued with visions of her dead son.
A week after Ethan's funeral Richard persuaded Camille, who herself had worked at a suicide prevention team, 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 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.
At an inquest held on Monday, May 22 Richard paid tribute to Camille in a statement provided to police. In it he described how she had "simply been in too much pain" after Ethan's death.
He said: "She was a really articulate, bright, funny and gregarious person. 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.
Richard added: "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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