The mum of a schoolgirl who took her own life at a children’s home broke down yesterday as she told an inquiry there were “several failures” behind her daughter’s death.
Kirsty McGregor, 13, died three months after being taken into care at Dunclutha Children’s Home in Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, in 2016.
A Fatal Accident Inquiry previously heard her parents had reached “breaking point” when the troubled teenager began to self harm and visit suicide sites.
In closing submissions to Dunoon Sheriff Court, Kirsty’s mum Judith McGregor hit back at a lawyer for Argyll and Bute Council, who said there were “no warning signs” and the tragedy could not have been foreseen.
Weeping, the mum said: “How can you say that signals were not seen as to what she eventually did? She had red marks around her neck the night before she died and she was asking for a school tie.
“Why was that room not searched to make sure she had no other ligatures in that room?
“Her belts were found broken in the room. You wonder how often had she tried before someone noticed the red mark on her neck and she did manage to do it.
“For you to tell me you didn’t miss warning signs of what was to happen beggars belief.”
Mrs McGregor said there had been a “lack of communication” from staff at the home and the team who placed her there.
She said: “I feel there have been several failures throughout the procedures of looking after Kirtsy.”
Kirsty, from Lochgilphead, was taken to Cowal Community Hospital from the Argyll and Bute Council-run home on December 30, 2016, but nothing could be done to save her.
Gavin Anderson, for the council, told the inquiry: “It is the council’s submission that warning signs were not ignored. There were no warning signs of what was to come and the tragic event which did occur was not foreseeable.”
He added: “There is no evidence before the inquiry that the deceased had attempted suicide prior to December 30, 2016 and there is no evidence before the inquiry that the level of monitoring at Dunclutha was inadequate.”
The lawyer also said it should also be noted that Kirsty was never formally diagnosed with attachment disorder, something which Kirsty’s parents say was a “fundamental issue” and not taken seriously before her death.
Mrs McGregor said it was well documented that Kirsty was considered to have the illness, which prevents a child from forming a bond with a parent or carer.
She said: “Kirsty’s lies were taken as what was understood to be right.
“It’s quoted in just about every affidavit things the parents are meant to have said things we are meant to have done, which were all made up in her fantasy world.
“If you read any document on attachment disorder one of the things you will read is that these children fantasise. One of the authors put it as living in Alice in Wonderland.
“That’s exactly where our daughter was, but we were not being listened to.”
The Record told at the time of Kirsty’s death how she had previously shared a series of posts on her Facebook page about loneliness, self harm and suicide, including one asking: “Would anyone miss me?”
Sheriff Thomas Ward will deliver his findings in due course.
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