Schoolgirl ‘had world at her feet’
A SCHOOLGIRL “with the world at her feet” was found dead after going missing, an inquest heard.
Keen horse rider and showjumper Brodie Morgan was found dead on March 10 after making off from her stables in Usk.
An inquest at Gwent Coroners’ Court yesterday heard that before being found the 16-year-old sent a Snapchat message saying: “I love you all so much, I want you all to know how much you mean to me.”
The inquest heard teenager Brodie, from Newport, had recently lost her grandfather and a close friend at school and had “problems” with other pupils in her year.
Brodie’s mother Emma Webb described her daughter as an “animal lover” expecting “amazing” GCSE results.
After picking her up from school the pair headed to their stables at around 5pm. While riding, Ms Webb had told her daughter to slow down which led to a disagreement and Ms Webb telling her daughter if she didn’t slow down they wouldn’t go to an upcoming show.
Ms Webb said the pair “weren’t angry” and the disagreement was no different to previous occasions. Brodie returned to the stables while her mother gave her some space to calm down, the inquest heard.
Ms Webb said: “I went into the stables to check on her but she was nowhere to be seen. This was so out of character and it was getting dark.”
She started searching for her but after growing concerned she contacted police at around 8.30pm to report her daughter missing. During the search she contacted the mother of one of Brodie’s friends who said she had posted the message on Snapchat. After using the location feature they could see roughly where it had been sent from.
Friend of the family Jemma Ellison went to the area, which was an underpass and wooded area near the A449 at Llantrisant.
In a statement read to the inquest Ms Ellison said she discovered Brodie’s body and flagged down two men in a lorry for help. They attempted CPR and called emergency services. An ambulance crew arrived at the scene at 9.36pm but Brodie was declared deceased shortly afterwards.
Ms Webb said her daughter was a lifelong “animal lover” and started keeping horses and showjumping.
She added that Brodie was expecting “amazing” GCSE results in the summer but she did experience some “problems” with other girls in her year.
She said: “She lost her grandfather and after this she struggled with her emotions. She became angry and took it out on me.”
Teacher Laura Winterflood described the St Joseph’s RC High School pupil as a “happy and bubbly girl who was excelling at school”.
Ms Winterflood said one of Brodie’s close friends at school died in January 2019 and she later had a “falling out” with a friend.
In a statement read to the inquest, Ms Winterflood said: “[Brodie] said with one friend they had grown apart and decided not to be friends. There was no malice.”
Assistant coroner Naomi Rees recorded a conclusion of suicide. She said: “Brodie was found dead on March 10 in a wooded area near the A449 at Llantrisant. It was a tragic end to a short life so full of promise.”
Ms Rees said the passing of her grandfather and friend “may have affected her mental well-being” but that she had “support from both home and from her form teacher”.
She said: “Her mum picked her up from school and she seemed happy and content. They had some words but nothing more than a close mother-daughter relationship.”
Passing on her condolences, Ms Rees added: “She had the world at her feet. Whatever she chose to do I know she would have succeeded.”
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