Teenager haunted by her father’s death hanged herself at the same spot in the woods

A 15-year-old girl haunted by her father’s death was found hanged at the same spot where he had taken his own life almost a decade earlier, an inquest heard.

Mia Bell, from Alfreton, Derbyshire, was found hanging in woodland near her home by a group of children.

The teenager had been an ‘outgoing and happy child’ until her father Steven took his own life in 2008, when she was just six-years-old.

Mia never got over the loss of her father and regularly visited the woods to be close to him.

Mia Bell, 15, from Alfreton, Derbyshire, was found hanging in woodland by a group of children. Her father Steven had taken his own life in the same spot in 2008

On the day of the tragedy Mia had been helping out in the garden and relatives had no reason to suspect anything when she told them she was going to a secluded spot before developers began building houses on it.

Chesterfield Coroner’s Court heard a group of children approached a passing dog walker and told him they had ‘seen a demon in the woods’.

He went to investigate and immediately dialled 999 when he found Mia.

Paramedics arrived at the scene and began CPR and managed to regain a pulse.

The young girl was rushed to King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottingham, and then transferred to Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre, but deteriorated quickly and died on August 31 last year.

The inquest, held on Friday, December 14, heard that Mia was a troubled young woman with a history of self-harm and hearing voices.

She also intermittently suffered from suicidal thoughts and hallucinations and spoke of a vision she sometimes had of a ‘little girl with black hair’ who ‘told her to hurt herself’.

The court heard that Mia had been a happy child who loved going to sleepovers and parties, until her father Steven took his own life in 2008.

After that she ‘became quite withdrawn’. 

On her regular visits to the spot where he took his own life she would leave gifts of beer, flowers and notes.

When her mother Kelly Duffield began a new relationship, Mia had difficulties accepting her stepfather, forming a ‘perceived rejection’.

Despite the family’s best efforts to make her feel loved and included she eventually moved out of the home.

In a formally arranged foster agreement, Mia moved in with her older cousin Carissa Bell, who was a ‘nurturing’ figure in her life.

She told the court that Mia seemed ‘very happy’. 

On the day of the tragedy she had cheerfully been helping out in the garden.

Carissa said: ‘I had no reason’ to suspect anything was wrong.

‘Mia’s dad’s ashes were never buried, they were in storage. She didn’t have a grave she could go to, so instead she would visit the woods.

An inquest held at Chesterfield Coroner's Court on December 14 heard that Mia had been a happy child until her father Steven took his own life in 2008

An inquest held at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court on December 14 heard that Mia had been a happy child until her father Steven took his own life in 2008

‘The day she left, she told me she was going out to the woods before ‘they were taken down’ as the area was being redeveloped for housing.

‘I didn’t think I had any reason to worry, as it was such a regular thing.’

Tributes left to Mia on Facebook describe the teenager as a ‘beautiful, caring and lovely’ girl’ who ‘never failed to make people laugh and smile’.

Giving evidence, mental health professionals who worked with Mia in the months leading up to her death said they were ‘optimistic’ that she was improving.

Chris Kirk, clinical pathway lead at Derbyshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAHMS), said: ‘Mia was a very pleasant young lady who had been through some difficult times emotionally

‘When it comes to the loss of her dad, I don’t know if a permanent resolution could ever have been found.

‘But we were looking at ways of helping her cope and, to my mind, things seemed to be getting better.’

Sue Towers, young people’s counsellor at Speaksafe Relate, said: ‘Mia seemed to be improving and was responding really well to counselling. I was so proud of her.’

Assistant coroner for Derbyshire Peter Nieto concluded that Mia died from hypoxic brain injury and hanging and had undertaken a ‘deliberate act’.

He added: ‘Mia had written three notes which were found near to her which clearly read as suicide notes.

‘She had chosen the place of her father’s death and his death clearly preoccupied her.’

There are a number of helplines available for young people struggling with suicidal thoughts.

Papyrus, Prevention for Young Suicide: 0800 068 41 41

Samaritans: 116 123

Childline: 0800 1111

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk