A “loved” girlfriend took her own life while her partner of four years was in bed, an inquest heard.
Former law and history student Charlotte Davis, 31, was found hanged by her boyfriend Nicholas Ousesey at the home they shared in Cardiff on January 13 this year.
A coroner heard Ms Davis had argued with her sister in the run-up to her death and had also had a row with her boyfriend after she cancelled a visit to Center Parcs.
On Wednesday an inquest held at Pontypridd Coroners’ Court heard Ms Davis grew up in Carmarthenshire but relocated to Cardiff to study.
A statement read on behalf of her mother, Pauline Davis, said her daughter went to Liverpool to study law after completing her A-levels.
She left the course and later moved to Cardiff to try again but her time at the university didn’t last.
“She was diagnosed with depression,” the statement read. “She was suffering with anxiety.
“In 2017 she started to study history with the Open University.
“The last time I saw her was before Christmas.
“She was supposed to come here for Christmas but didn’t because of concerns about her cat.
“When she was her normal self she had a good sense of humour and was very caring.”
The inquest heard Ms Davis had been in a relationship with Mr Ousesey for around four years after they met when he was 19 and she was 26 and they lived together in Florentia Street in Cathays .
Giving evidence at the inquest he gave a detailed account of how Ms Davis’ anxiety affected her, saying she was generally “afraid to leave the house”.
“She felt safe at home,” he said. “I don’t know what she was scared of – she didn’t talk about it. She didn’t like people seeing us.
“She was in a dark place and made a few threats to kill herself, especially when she was drunk. The next day I would try to make her talk about it – she would say she was just drunk.”
On January 11 the couple had a disagreement after Ms Davis cancelled plans they had made for a trip with her family to Center Parcs at the last minute for which her boyfriend has booked time off.
“She didn’t give a reason for cancelling but I think it was too much for her,” he said.
Ms Davis woke up about 8pm the following day which was said to be normal for her. She was described as being “quite nocturnal” because she would often struggle to sleep.
The couple then drank together until about 3am on January 13, the inquest heard.
Discussing the atmosphere between them, Mr Ousesey said: “It wasn’t great – I was drinking because I was upset. She was drinking because of her anxiety or whatever it was.”
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Later the same day he woke up to find Ms Davis on the sofa.
“I went downstairs to get water and she was awake and still drinking in the living room,” he said.
“I wasn’t happy but it was something I’d seen before. I was hungover. I wanted to get some water and go back to bed.”
After going back to his room for around an hour and a half Mr Ousesey went back downstairs but Ms Davis was no longer in the living room.
He could see the bathroom door was open and later discovered Ms Davis. He immediately tried to help her and called 999, the inquest heard. Ms Davis was later pronounced dead.
Officers discovered notebooks around the sofa where she had sitting and discovered personal items such as her phone.
WhatsApp messages between her and her sister were later discovered which revealed she had also had a disagreement with her sister prior to her death. It was said to relate to a wedding that was being planned.
Referring to the messages, assistant coroner Rachel Knight said: “Charlotte was asked to be a bridesmaid but couldn’t because of being anxious of walking down the aisle with people.”
Pathologist Dr Stephen Leadbeatter gave the medical cause of death as pressure to the neck through hanging. Alcohol was also detected in her system.
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Ms Knight accepted these findings when recording a conclusion of suicide.
She said: “It’s clear [Ms Davis] had her challenges but she was very loved and she’ll be missed by a lot of people.
“I have seen diaries written by her which are not dated which explore thoughts about death.
“These documents were found near the sofa where she had been sitting hours prior to her decision to go to the bathroom.
“She was taking anti-depressants.
“She argued with her sister and she had an argument with her partner about not going to Center Parcs.
“Her death took place sometime between 12pm and 2.15pm. I’m content it was her intention to die.”
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