LOCKDOWN ‘BROKE MY SISTER’, 32
SOLDIER SAYS ISOLATION BROUGHT BY COVID LED TO TRAGIC DEATH
A COUNTY soldier has paid tribute to his sister who was found dead at home by her five-year-old son, writes Adrian Troughton.
David Simms, of Coalville, left, has spoken of how lockdown contributed to the mental health issues after his sister Katie, 32, was found unresponsive in the living room of her home by her son. It was the second tragedy to hit David’s family, after the death of brother Barry five years ago.
David said his sister had been badly affected by the coronavirus lockdown as she could not visit their parents.
Police have said Katie’s death is not being treated as suspicious, and a report is being prepared for the coroner.
David said Katie had been “struggling” for a number of years after their older brother’s death in 2015.
David, a father-of-two, said his sister was always a caring and outgoing person but after their brother died, she found leaving the house difficult.
The 40-year-old added: “I think Covid-19 broke her, to be honest.”
A COUNTY man has paid tribute to his “caring” sister who was found dead at home by her fiveyear-old son.
He has spoken out after his sister Katie Simms, 32, was found unresponsive in the living room of her home by her son.
It was the second tragedy to hit David Simms’ family after the death of his brother Barry, at the age of 40, five years ago.
David, from Coalville, said his sister had been broken by the coronavirus lockdown as she could not visit their parents.
Officers from Northamptonshire Police attended the scene in Haynes Road, Kettering, at the end of last month and have said the death is not being treated as suspicious while a report is being prepared for the coroner.
David said Katie had been “struggling” for a number of years after their older brother, Barry Gunn, died in 2015.
Barry had served in the Army with The Royal Anglian Regiment.
After returning from a tour in Sierra Leone, he suffered from PTSD and attempted to take his life. He later died in hosptial.
David, who is also in the Army, said of his brother: “Back in 2015 my brother was suffering from PTSD after he returned from Sierra Leone.
“He was quite troubled with that, he tried to take his own life by taking an overdose, and he then passed away in hospital a few months later, after he’d been put on a ventilator.
“Katie took that quite bad – he was only 40 at the time.
“He did a tour out in Sierra Leone and what he saw out there really scarred him and he couldn’t cope with his demons.”
David, a father-of-two, said his sister was always a caring and outgoing person but after their brother died, she found leaving the house difficult.
He also said the coronavirus lockdown had affected her very badly as she could not visit their parents.
David, 40, added: “She was very stubborn, but she used to be quite outgoing, and loved going out to socialise. But ever since my brother passed away she shut herself away and she ended up getting a bit of a phobia of not really going outside.
“And I think Covid-19 broke her to be honest.”