The world is on my shoulders
What pharmacist said before killing herself on romantic holiday
‘All of her life in front of her’
A YOUNG pharmacist who complained of having ‘the world on her shoulders’ killed herself on the last day of a romantic break with her boyfriend, an inquest has heard.
Victoria Smith was found hanged from a stone jetty in Tenerife earlier this year.
Miss Smith, 25, had just bought a house with her boyfriend Matt Arkwright, 31.
And Mr Arkwright, a cycling shop manager, said Miss Smith had been her ‘normal self’ after they arrived for their holiday on March 21. But on March 28, the day they were due to leave, he said: ‘She was very quiet, and she said she just wanted to sit by the pool and read.
‘I asked her if she wanted to go for dinner and she said no but that I could go without her. I waited for her but it got to the stage where we had to sort things for when we were leaving, so I left at about 6.30pm and she said she was right behind me. It was the last I saw of her.’
The hearing was told the jetty where Miss Smith was found was a spot the couple visited during their Tenerife trip. The inquest in Preston was told Miss Smith, of Leyland, Lancashire, was a ‘bright and bubbly’ young woman who had ‘ups and downs’ over the years. She had been put on anti-depressants. She worked at a pharmacy in Ashton-on-Ribble but found dealing with customers difficult so had recently accepted another job at Royal Preston Hospital.
Mr Arkwright said Miss Smith had been ‘very down’ about her job in the pharmacy although she was ‘looking forward’ to her new post. He added: ‘Shortly before we went away, we had been out with friends. Normally she was loud and engaging but she was quiet and withdrawn. We had a private chat and she felt as though she had the world on her shoulders.’
The boyfriend described his relationship with Miss Smith as ‘strong and happy’.
But the inquest also heard that despite being excited about their new home, Miss Smith had been upset after selling her horse to fund the move. Mr Arkwright said: ‘In February she sold her horse and it was a sad experience for her. I thought that was normal because she was getting rid of something that had been in her life for a long time.’
Recording a verdict of suicide, Coroner James Newman described Miss Smith as ‘a young woman who evidently had all of her life in front of her and every opportunity to make a wonderful life’.
But he added: ‘Mental illness is one of the greatest demons of our time and it is tragic that Victoria had periods of lows but she was being medicated and it seemed to be working. It is such a waste of a very young and promising life.
‘She had episodes of feeling down and had been prescribed anti- depressants – but she seemed to have been excited by her new home. She had been about to start a new job in April. Her future appeared to have been incredibly bright.’
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