Pregnant mother-of-two who hanged herself a day after seeking abortion had a history of mental illness
NEATH, WALES: A young mother-of-two children hanged herself just a day after seeking an abortion as she found out she was pregnant.
An inquest at Swansea Civic Centre heard how 23-year-old Ilona Grant had a history of mental illness and had already tried to commit suicide in the past, the Daily Mail reports.
Grant had reportedly been drinking during the day on February 5 this year and sought help with her mental health later in the night. Authorities found her lifeless body the same day in her flat in Neath, Wales.
Just before ending her life, it was revealed she had a Facetime call with her boyfriend wherein she threatened to harm herself.
Social services knew Grant previously and claimed she had a history of poor mental health.
Detective Sergeant Craig Earley told the inquest the mother-of-two children, who were no longer in her care, had a difficult upbringing.
On the night of her tragic death, dispatch received calls around 8.30 pm to reports from neighbors of a noise nuisance, he said.
They received another call later in the evening, wherein a social worker informed the police that Grant's boyfriend had told her that she had threatened to take her own life.
When police responded to the address, they found she had already hanged herself. Officers also noticed a smashed wine glass and bloody palm prints outside the apartment.
She had reportedly visited her GP just the day before she died, requesting termination at four weeks into her pregnancy.
Grant's sent a Facetime message to her boyfriend, an airman in the RAF, on the day of her death, saying she was shocked about the pregnancy. The boyfriend advised her to immediately get in touch with the mental health team.
But she told him she wanted to harm herself and then proceeded to go into the kitchen and smashed a wine glass. The boyfriend then alerted the mental health team.
It was found Grant had signs of self-inflicted injuries on her following a post mortem examination, which established the cause of death to be hanging.
Acting senior coroner Colin Phillips delivered his conclusion at the inquest saying the news of her pregnancy had been troubling the young woman.
Furthermore, she was also under threat of eviction from her home while her mental health state was "clearly going downhill."
However, she was not getting the help she needed owing to miscommunications, thereby leading to the "very tragic death."
Philips concluded Grant ended her own life.
Her devastated mother found out about the death only the morning after, as she was waiting to have her own mental health checked at Morriston Hospital in Swansea.
Lindsay Broom, Grant's landlady, told the inquest that she had a certain "sadness" about her and that her "soul was old."
"She was a good kid. She didn't want that life. She was a smart girl," she added.
If you need mental health assistance in the UK, you are urged to contact The Samaritans at any time, from any phone for free, on 116 123, or call Mind's Infoline from Monday to Friday on 03001233393 or text 86463.