Natasha Wise, 22, jumped off a bridge yards from her home in Whalley Range, Manchester, after celebrating her birthday with friends
The daughter of a music mogul who took her own life after a battle with depression left a series of heartbreaking Facebook posts before she died, an inquest heard.
Natasha Wise, 22, whose father Alan Wise was a key figure in Factory Records, jumped off a bridge yards from her home in Whalley Range, Manchester, after celebrating her birthday with friends.
Her devastated family told the inquest that there was ‘no doubt’ that she should have been sectioned following a numerous hospital visits.
She wrote on social media ‘nvm [never mind] it’s time’ before she was found dead by a cyclist on March 15, 2016.
The hearing at Manchester Town Hall heard Miss Wise had been suffering with depression and had become addicted to drugs and alcohol.
She made a number of visits to hospital to get help, but experts believed the risk of her attempting suicide was low and she did not qualify to be sectioned.
Her father, who was a key figure in the birth of the famous Manchester music label and the Hacienda nightclub said before his death that she had been ‘failed’ by mental health services.
Alan Wise, pictured at his daughter’s funeral in April 2016 (left) died three months after his daughter Natasha (right) killed herself
He died in his sleep less than three months after his daughter passed away.
Natasha’s step sister Ellis Cain told the inquest: ‘Natasha had depression since I met her when she was 12 and she knew the system very well.
‘She felt like they couldn’t help her. Whenever we were met with a mental health professional she would completely reject it.
‘I took her to A&E four days before her death. When we arrived, she was screaming and was in such a state, but by the time we got round to see a psychiatrist, her presentation was completely different.
Miss Wise left a series of heartbreaking Facebook posts hours before she died
‘She was very intelligent and very polite. Someone who only met her for five minutes wouldn’t be able to assess her mental health.
‘On March 14, it was Natasha’s birthday. She was 22 that day. We went out in Chorlton and she drunk quite a bit. Natasha appeared drunker than anybody else.
‘She wanted to continue celebrating, but most people wanted to go home. She had really built up the idea of her birthday being really important.
‘I went to bed about 3.30am and had taken tablets off her. I didn’t want her to take the lot.
Colourful tributes have been left to Miss Wise underneath the bridge where she died
‘She had an addiction to valium, which I only discovered shortly before she died.
‘Natasha had a severe addiction which was taking over her life. She shouldn’t have been at home. She should have been in hospital.
‘The last thing Natasha said to me was ‘don’t worry, I am not going to go out and kill myself’.
‘She posted on Facebook that morning saying ‘never mind, it is time’. I later found out that she had died.’
Dr Siobhan Riley, a trainee psychiatrist who saw Natasha, said: ‘I was working as the on call doctor on March 11 and was made aware there was a patient in A&E who needed a mental health assessment.
Mourners carry her coffin at her funeral in April 2016 at Southern Cemetery, Chorlton, Manchester
‘My conclusion at that time was that Natasha was safe to go home. I could see her past history of self harm and I believed there was a risk of further self harm, but I felt the risk of suicide was low.
‘She mentioned she was seeing a psychiatrist and had engaged with him. I knew she wouldn’t be going home on her own and had family with her.’
Recording a verdict of suicide, assistant coroner for central Manchester Nick Stanage said: ‘I am satisfied that Natasha intended to take her own life and that she jumped from the bridge intending to die.’
Following the hearing, Natasha’s stepmother Beverley Gallier said: ‘She had a loving family around her, but the drugs and alcohol meant she was like a runaway steam roller.
‘There is no doubt in our mind that she needed sectioning to deal with her issues.
‘There was a beautiful side to Natasha. She was kind and generous.
‘She came from a family of such intellectuals who had contributed so much to this vibrant city.
‘If we had got her over that hump, we believe she would have contributed to the city in the same way her father had done.’
Bosses at the Greater Manchester Mental Health Foundation Trust said lessons had been learned in the wake of Natasha’s death.
Bosses at the Greater Manchester Mental Health Foundation Trust said lessons had been learned in the wake of Natasha’s death.
Director of operations Deborah Partington said: ‘We are sincerely sorry for the loss to Natasha’s family following her death and the subsequent death of her late father.
‘Mental health services in Manchester have been undergoing significant transformation since those tragic events in 2016 and we would like to reassure our communities that help is available to them.’
Natasha and Alan’s family and friends are raising money to get him a headstone next to his daughter’s grave.
They have raised £1,500 of their £2,000 target. Any remaining cash will be donated to mental health charity Papyrus.
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.