Grammar girl stepped under train after horse drugs binge
A GRAMMAR school pupil who died after stepping in front of a train had taken the party drug ketamine, an inquest heard.
Zeynep Pattie, 18, jumped down from the platform at a station and on to the tracks.
A police investigation found no one else was involved and the teenager, who had been out with friends the night before, had not tripped by accident.
Toxicology results showed her system contained ketamine, which is used as a horse tranqilliser. The powerful anaesthetic is often abused by drug users for its euphoric effects but it can cause delirium and depression.
The tests were unable to determine exactly when she took the Class B drug, but the inquest was told she could have been under its influence when she died.
Zeynep’s family previously said she had struggled with mental health problems and believe she committed suicide at Shenfield station in Essex.
But coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray recorded an open conclusion, saying there were ‘missing pieces of the jigsaw’.
She added: ‘We will never know quite what was going through her mind at the time.’
Zeynep, from Ongar in Essex, attended King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford and hoped to become a solicitor. She appeared to have the perfect life. She regularly uploaded happy photos on to social media, including a selfie two days before she died which was captioned ‘Goldilocks’ and showed her hair swept back.
Teachers said she had a ‘bright future’ and predicted she would get the grades needed to gain a place at Newcastle University.
On the morning of November 21, Zeynep was with a group of friends who got off a train at Shenfield to catch a service to Chelmsford. She had been planning to meet her mother in Chelmsford, and had texted her in the morning.
Kristina Butler, of British Transport Police, told the hearing in Chelmsford: ‘She had motioned to her friends she was looking for a charging point for her phone.’
But after going into the station’s waiting room she began to walk up the platform before suddenly jumping on to the tracks where she was killed. Police were unable to unlock her phone to see if there were any clues to why she died.
There was no evidence of a suicide note but her family had previously spoken out about the difficulty young people have keeping up with their peer groups.
In a statement they said: ‘Behind the social media facade, we now understand that Zeynep was dealing with depression.
‘Young women are spending a significant amount of time each day absorbing others’ filtered images while they walk through their own realities, unfiltered.
‘She seemed acutely aware that the life she was curating online was distinctly different from the one she was actually living.’ But the coroner said she would not be recording a verdict of suicide because there was not enough evidence to show the teenager had deliberately taken her life.
Mrs Beasley-Murray also dismissed the possibility of an accident caused by ‘larking about’ and referred to a ‘degree of impulsivity’ about the student’s death.
Zeynep’s family raised nearly £10,000 from a Just Giving fundraiser. It was divided between a centre for orphaned children in Kenya, where she had volunteered for two weeks, and mental health charity Young Minds.
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit a local branch. See www.samaritans.org for details.