Grieving mother is found dead year after son’s suicide
THE heartbroken mother of a teenager who hanged himself over false rape allegations has taken her own life in the same way shortly after the anniversary of his death.
Karin Cheshire, 55, fell into a deep depression following her son Jay’s death, with her family saying she had not been able to cope without him.
An inquest opened this week and heard she died on July 18 having hanged herself – as 17-year-old Jay had done.
Neighbours found her body at her threebedroom home in the Bitterne area of Southampton, after becoming worried when they had not heard from her or seen her walking her dog.
Mrs Cheshire leaves behind her daughter Camellia, 21, who is said to be numb at losing a second close family member in the space of 12 months.
Now Mrs Cheshire’s family are seeking answers from the girl who accused Jay of rape. Her brother Simon Cheshire, 58,
‘Allegations have taken two lives’
even went as far as to say the girl’s allegations have now resulted in two deaths in his family. The father-of-three said: ‘I now think Karin had been preparing for this, as we’ve been clearing out her house for the past three months.
‘It came to the anniversary of Jay’s death and, sadly, although I almost expected her to do something, I’m shocked she actually took her life in the same fashion. She just couldn’t see a future without Jay.’
He said the whole family have not got over Jay’s death on July 5 last year. The Bitterne Park School pupil had been at the centre of a police investigation when he was accused of rape but the alleged victim then dropped the allegation.
But just weeks after that, ‘vulnerable and sensitive’ Jay was found hanging in a park in Southampton and died two days later.
A coroner recorded a verdict of suicide and said he had struggled to deal with the false accusations and the investigation. And Mrs Cheshire told of making the heartwrenching decision to switch off his life support.
Speaking last October following Jay’s inquest at Winchester Crown Court, she said: ‘The rape allegation was the main reason he killed himself. I was very close to my son. He was a huggy type of lad. He was like me, he hid a lot of his pain.
‘I switched his life support off. If I have to think about it I will cry. It’s the worst thing a mum could have to do. It was traumatic. My last conversation with my son before he left home went, “I love you mum, I love you Jay”.’
Mr Cheshire, a driver for BlueStar bus company, said he last saw his sister on July 1, shortly before the anniversary of Jay’s death, and described her as looking ‘vacant’ and ‘zombie-like’.
He said: ‘The anger I feel is that this girl and her mum have taken two lives with their allegations. Karin wanted to pursue an inquiry because it was really badly mishan- dled by the police – the allegations went on for weeks before Jay was told there was no evidence.’
Police said last year that Jay voluntarily attended an interview on April 29 to be questioned. He was not arrested and on May 30, 2015 police ended the investigation. No action has been taken against the complainant. ÷ For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a Samaritans branch. See www. samaritans.org