Mystery Illness Led To Suicide In Putney Hotel
19 year old Zoe Hadley was an 'intelligent' and 'beautiful' young woman
Westminster Coroner Fiona Wilcox has recorded a verdict of suicide in the case of 19 year old Zoe Hadley, also known as Zoe Hommel.
She was found hanged in MK Hotel in Putney. Zoe checked in to the hotel on 26th January and was found by a cleaner the following day.
Westminster coroner’s court heard that the former North London Collegiate School student was “psychotic” but hid it from doctors, so she was not noted as a suicide risk. The court heard that after her death, notes were found saying she was “tormented by voices”.
Zoe Hadley (Facebook image)
A statement read out on behalf of her father described how he and his wife struggled to cope. Dr Hommel said: “She was a beautiful, intelligent, loving daughter. Up until the age of 13 she excelled at school. In 2009 she started to suffer terrible headaches and no physical causes were found. It took her three months of treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital to open her eyes and look at us, four months to eat solid food, six months before she could get into a wheelchair.”
He said she recovered quickly but the court heard she relapsed in April 2011 and became convinced she could not use her legs. The statement continued:
“From the age of 16 she started to go to the doctors to seek diagnoses for a neurological disease she believed she suffered from and seek a cure for her paralysis. In September 2011 she cut off all her school friends and never spoke to them again.”
Coroner Fiona Wilcox said that Zoe: "'... was very intelligent and used her intelligence at times to share with those around her as much as she wanted them to know and did so successfully. Her illness was incredibly disabling and completely affected every aspect of her life.
"She was suffering from a psychotic illness which impacted on her decision to take her own life. Maybe she intended to take her own life to escape from the illness or she took her own life suffering under a delusion. I don’t know. 'Her parents, clearly for many years, did everything possible for their daughter who was very clearly troubled and unwell."
April 24, 2015