Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Coroner Rules 13-Year-Old’s Reservoir Death a Suicide After Inquest

The coroner applied the balance of probabilities, citing a jogger's account alongside Snapchat messages indicating intent.

Overview

  • Assistant Coroner Caroline Chandler delivered the finding at Bradford Coroner's Court on October 16.
  • She entered Baitings Reservoir on May 28 after persuading her unwell father to visit, with a jogger reporting she stepped off the bridge without hesitation.
  • Her father called 999 and specialist teams recovered her body the next day using sonar; a post-mortem recorded drowning and evidence of self-harm.
  • Police initially treated the fall as accidental until friends supplied Snapchat screenshots that described low mood, identity turmoil and possible intent to end her life.
  • Calderdale Council reported no safeguarding concerns after its review, while her school remembered the Year 8 pupil as bright, kind and friendly.