Devastated mum took her life at same spot her 16 year old talented footballer son killed himself

Forum 11 months ago

Devastated mum took her life at same spot her 16 year old talented footballer son killed himself

A womam took her life at the same spot her 16-year-old son killed himself eight weeks earlier, an inquest heard.

The devastated mum Camille Hardman, 45, carried out an exact re-enactment of her talented footballer son Ethan’s suicide after he took his life a few months after his 16th birthday last October.

Following days of his death, a heartbroken Camille was admitted to a mental health unit after her family raised the alarm about her expressing suicidal thoughts.

On December 8, her sister came to her home in Walton-le-Dale, near Preston, Lancashire, to find the doors wide open.

Camille wasn’t in the house because she had left by the side gate to avoid being seen on a neighbours doorbell camera, the court heard.

She left a note in which she described how she struggled to cope since Ethan died and what she wanted to happen after her death, the court was told.

Devastated mum took her life at same spot her 16 year old talented footballer son killed himself

After a search, her body was found at an area known as Forty Step by the same police officer who had discovered her son’s body there just weeks before.

Area Coroner Kate Bisset said: ‘This was an absolute tragedy, utterly heart-breaking.

‘Camille was an intelligent, articulate and loving lady and Ethan was the light of her life.

‘When Ethan died she was destroyed by the loss, her heart was broken beyond repair.’

Preston Coroner’s Court heard Camille, a Human Resources administrator, had a history of depression stretching back 20 years and had made numerous threats to end her life.

The inquest heard she found life ‘too much’ when her only child killed himself on October 14 after splitting up from his girlfriend.

He was also struggling to deal with the death of his grandmother and the pressure of starting his first job, it was heard.

Camille’s partner Richard Benson broke down in court as he revealed that on a number of occasions over the next eight weeks she expressed suicidal thoughts.

He said: ‘Camille had lots of challenges and had struggles with her mental health. But she was very loving, kind, funny and intelligent.’