Girl (17) took her own life ‘after accidental Snapchat message’

A 17-year-old British girl took her own life after she accidentally sent a Snapchat message to her on-off boyfriend revealing that she had slept with someone else, an inquest has heard.

Charlotte Guy had intended the message to go to a friend, but mistakenly sent it to 20-year-old Jack Hurst instead, a coroner was told.

After realising what she had done, she apologised and told Hurst the message “wasn’t for” him, before sending a long text to explain it.

Hurst, a student at Newcastle University, told Bolton Coroner's Court that he had been concerned by the message and had tried to call Charlotte.

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When she did not answer, Hurst called the police and used her Snapchat account to pinpoint her location. When the police arrived, the inquest heard, Charlotte was dead.

Toxicology reports showed she had taken cocaine while under the influence of alcohol, having gone out with friends the night before.

The inquest heard that the teenager, who was studying healthcare at St John Rigby College in Wigan, had a history of self-harm and had previously told Hurst she wanted to take her own life.

Charlotte’s parents, Martin and Deborah Guy, said their daughter had been referred to healthcare professionals having previously self-harmed.

They said the last time they saw their daughter was on Sunday, September 24th, the day she died, when she had a cup of tea with them and said she was going to collect her belongings from a friend.

Martin Guy said the messages to Hurst were “for attention”, adding: “I don’t think she knew the severity of what she was doing.”

Narrative conclusion

Recording a narrative conclusion, the coroner, Alan Walsh, said: “It is important to note that there was no evidence that Charlotte used cocaine in the past and no evidence that she was a regular user. On the balance of the evidence, it is likely that she used cocaine in what I have described as the chaotic last 48 hours of her life.

“Particularly important in the chaos was her mental state of mind in that period. As a non-regular user, it may have had a greater impact on her mind at that time.”

Walsh said Charlotte’s “trigger points” were work-related stress at college and her part-time job, and her relationship with her boyfriend, whom she had dated for nearly two years.

He added: “I believed it [the relationship] had the usual ups and downs of young people . . . It is usual for these relationships to have its ups and downs – on one minute and off the next. I accept that she was the one who ended the relationship, but it still would have had an effect on her.

“I accept at the time she may have been under the influence of cocaine and some of the effects of that may have changed her behaviour and may have changed her state of mind. I believed she was a troubled young lady. The effect it will have on her family and friends is beyond imagination.” – Guardian service