Hanged teen’s secret diary of weight torment
A SCHOOLGIRL who worried she was overweight was found hanged in her bedroom, leaving a heartbreaking secret diary in which she detailed her torment.
Charlotte Baron, 14, made drawings depicting her self-harming and posted entries saying she didn’t like the size of her body, an inquest heard yesterday.
In one notebook entry after she was taken to hospital for drinking too much vodka, she wrote: ‘I almost died – I was so close. I just wanted to forget everything. I just wanted to die.’
In February last year Charlotte, from Rochdale, Manchester, was found hanged, by her older brother Tyler, 20.
Police discovered she had sent a last text to a friend reading: ‘What the f*** is going on with me? I’m such a f****** wimp.’ Detective Inspector Andrew Butterworth told the inquest a black notebook had been found after her death entitled ‘drawing diary’, featuring a picture of a hand.
He said: ‘The hand had self-harm marks on the arms and the words described Charlotte talking about harming herself, and as you go through the book talking about how she doesn’t like the size of her body etc, that she’s overweight and alludes to being depressed.’
The hearing in Heywood was told Charlotte – who attended St Cuthbert’s Roman Catholic High School – began self-harming when she was 12. During one incident she was admitted to A&E after an overdose of prescription medication and was referred to mental healthcare professionals who gave her counselling sessions. She was also badly affected by her grandmother being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Shortly after Christmas 2015, Charlotte was found unconscious in a field after drinking amaretto and
‘She had body issues’
vodka. Her mother Veronica Kilbride, 42, said: ‘I thought the drinking was the type of thing that teenagers do but that was a cry for help and I didn’t see that.’ The mother-offive said: ‘She was growing at a rapid rate and had body issues like most teenagers do.’
Miss Kilbride said Charlotte hadn’t wanted to discuss the reasons for her attempted overdose, saying: ‘I didn’t want to press her too much.’ The hearing continues.
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