A student described as "a happy, bright girl" took her
own life after suffering from exam pressures, an
inquest heard today.
Lauren McQuaid, from Cardiff, was found dead at the
age of 21 at home by her boyfriend Michael Wanklin.
Assistant coroner Thomas Atherton told Cardiff
Coroner’s court Ms McQuaid died on April 28 after an
overdose .
In a statement read out by the coroner, Mr Wanklin
said third-year Cardiff University biochemistry student
Ms McQuaid had told him she needed space to work
on her coursework but they had arranged to meet at
Costa in Albany Road on April 27.
She didn’t show up to the cafe and so Mr Wanklin
went to check on her and presumed she was too busy
to meet due to her coursework.
The statement read: “I gave her a kiss on her forehead
and she felt warm. She had been working hard so I
didn’tshe was just sleeping.”
Through statements from Ms McQuaid’s housemates,
which were also read out in court, it was revealed her
housemates also heard her “coughing and gargling”
during the night but they thought nothing of it.
The next day, having not heard from Ms McQuaid, Mr
Wanklin visited the house again the next afternoon. But
when he found her he realised she had died, reports
WalesOnline .
He said he also found an A4 paper pad which turned
out to be a suicide note written to her mother, which
he had seen the day before, but thought nothing of it.
Mr Wanklin also said: “I feel that I have let Lauren and
her mum down in that I did not realise what her
intentions were at the time.”
In a statement read out by the coroner, her mother
Joanne, said: "She was a bright, happy girl and the life
and soul of the party. She lit up the room when she
entered."
The court also heard Ms McQuaid had not been happy
with her weight and had attended WeightWatchers,
winning a number of awards.
She had met Mr Wanklin at one of the organisation’s
meetings in October 2015.
Mr Wanklin also suffered from depression, the court
heard, but Ms McQuaid had “played a big part” in
helping him through it.
The coroner revealed how Ms McQuaid, from Norton,
Gloucestershire, had self-harmed in the past, and had
used razors and cigarettes to do so.
Her medical history was read out and the coroner said
she had frequented the doctor at the end of 2014 after
being diagnosed with depression.
But her condition began to deteriorate in December,
and she asked for a “not fit to work” note to be written
for university.
A year passed and in December 2015, which was the
last time the doctor had seen her, she had lost 4st and
“in summary, she was doing well”.
She had also recently heard her brother and his
girlfriend were to have a baby, so she was to be an
aunt.
Dr Thomas Hockey, who carried out the post-mortem
and was present at the court on Monday, July 11, said
the examination following Ms McQuaid’s death on April
28 had found “scarring to her arms, chest and left leg”.
The coroner returned a conclusion of suicide, caused
by toxicity, and added: “It’s clear what her intentions
were at around that time, particularly with her history
of depression and of cuts to herself.
"In an extremely upsetting and tragic case that
someone with so much to live for could be overcome
by her depression at such a critical time of her life, it
may have been the stress put on her by her studies
that led to this."
Speaking after the inquest, her mother, Joanne, said:
"She was truly fantastic person and it’s so sad.
"We wish we could have helped her reach her full
potential."
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