A 12-year-old girl who hanged herself struggled to cope with the pressures of social media, a coroner said today.
Jessica Scatterson claimed she was bullied at school and wrote 'RIP' on her heel before she was found dead at her home.
A coroner said that Jessica was "emotionally overwhelmed" when she died and that her activity on social media had played a part in her intentions to hang herself.
Police were called to Jessica's home after friends became worried about the picture, and other harrowing messages posted at around the same time.
The officers woke Jessica's father, Christopher, who discovered her dead, surrounded by cuddly toys, in her bedroom.
Handwritten notes and drawings, which included references to death and suicide, plus the name of her alleged bully , were also found.
Jessica’s teachers told the inquest that she loved her father but a lot of the domestic chores fell upon her and she was worried about his emotional health.
All admitted there had been incidents of name-calling and fall-outs between Jessica and her friends, but denied it was bullying.
The hearing was told Jessica had spoken to teachers about her difficult home life with her father, Christopher Scatterson, who would 'sometimes come home, go to his room and cry'.
Police spoke to Mr Scatterson, 41, from an upstairs window at his home in Warrington at 3.45am on April 22 2017, before hearing a “loud scream” from inside.
Officers attempted to resuscitate Jessica, who would have turned 13 two days later, until an ambulance crew arrived.
The teenager was pronounced dead at hospital.
Paramedic Joanne Newton told the hearing at Warrington Town Hall, Cheshire, that she noticed cuts to Jessica's legs and 'RIP' written in pen on her right heel.
Discussing the handwritten notes, Inspector Hannah Friend said: "These contained references of suicide and death and a hand-drawn picture of someone being hanged."
Unpleasant messages between Jessica and her friends in the days before were also found on her iPad.
A group photograph, in which one of the girls' faces had been scratched out, was also discovered.
The hearing was told that Jessica's friends knew she had previously self-harmed, but never told her parents or teachers at Penketh High School.
A police inquiry revealed there had been an incident “relating to Jessica being bullied at school” in April 2016.
Insp Friend said Jessica had come home with scratches to her face and a swollen eye after arguing with another girl.
The matter was reported to the police but it was unclear who started the fight so no action was taken.
When quizzed by police, Jessica's friends denied she was bullied and said she 'gave as good as she got'.
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Mr Scatterson said he was unaware that Jessica was depressed or self-harming.
He described his relationship with Year 8 pupil Jessica as “absolutely great” describing her as his “little princess.”
Jessica’s mum Rachael Warburton told the inquest she spoke to her daughter following a “chance encounter” a few weeks before her death.
She said Jessica looked shocked to see her mum, who she was estranged from, but that the pair would communicate through social media, letters and Jessica’s friends.
Mrs Warburton said Jessica told her that “she was mocked by friends because she did not have a mother,” but added “Jessica did not appear to be bullied by anybody."
She seemed happy with her friends and it appeared that she had a close bond with her friends.
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Senior Coroner for Cheshire, Alan Moore, said a letter the schoolgirl posted online listing six reasons to take her own life was “highly significant evidence because it demonstrates a clear intent on Jessica’s part to take her own life and it also indicates the means at which she intended to do so.”
Jessica had also researched on the internet “the easiest and painless way of killing yourself quickly.”
Mr Moore added: “This is a truly tragic case. It must have been utterly heart-breaking for all of you.
“It is clear to me from the evidence that Jessica must have felt emotionally overwhelmed at the time she took her own life.
“The level and the intensity of her activity on social media platforms, in particularly in the build-up to her death, cannot have failed to have influenced her thinking, her state of mind and her intentions.”
Mr Moore read out and agreed with Wendy Walsh, a school emotional wellbeing co-ordinator, when she spoke about social media during her evidence.
He said: “She said, I quote. ‘The pressures that young people are under are extraordinary. Young people don’t have the skills to cope with such overwhelming emotions and those were her words and I echo that."
Mo Moore concluded that Jessica Scatterson's cause of death was suicide by hanging.
