A troubled PHD student who thought she was responsible for Covid-19 and that her blood cured the virus took her life 30 minutes after being discharged from a psychiatric ward, an inquest has heard.
Emily Miller, 23, of Stockport, had struggled with severe mental health conditions since she was child, but had recently developed a series of Covid-related delusions she could not shake, the court was told.
She was sectioned several times between March 2019 and October 2020 in connection with a life-long mental health struggle which started as an anxiety diagnosis at ten-year-old.
At the time of her death, the 23-year-old had several diagnoses, including emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD) - which can manifest in psychosis - along with depression and anxiety.
During her studies a York University, the doctorate student was admitted to a psychiatric ward at Foss Park Hospital on October 27.
She was sectioned by police after scaling a bridge near York University and threatening to jump off, Manchester Evening News reports.
Officers managed to convince the 23-year-old not to jump and she came off the structure.
After spending just three days in the ward after the suicide attempt, she was told she would being discharged.
Following the discharge meeting with her psychiatric team, she was placed under the care of community health, which allows people with mental health conditions to be treated out in the world rather than in hospital.
The inquest, taking place at the Old Courthouse in Northallerton, Yorkshire on Tuesday, heard Emily was hostile when staff told her she had to leave.
Just half-an-hour after the meeting, witnesses recalled seeing a young woman dressed in dark clothing leaping into a choppy river from a tourist bridge in York.
The witnesses added they saw Emily's head piercing the river surface, before she sank beneath and was swept by the currents along the river.
“She wasn’t making any attempt to get to the other side of the river,” said one witness.
A boatman at Naburn Lock, 15 minutes by car south of the city, discovered her body, contacted the police, who later confirmed it was Emily.
Dr Anne Hook, a medic from Emily's psychiatric hospital, told the inquest that the "distressed" post-graduate had often talked of killing herself.
One of her most insidious delusions led her to believe she was responsible for coronavirus. She was also terrified the Covid-19 "scientists would read her thoughts".
She had told the staff "she was keeping some of her blood to cure the virus", and that she kept "reporting messages on the radio where she worked".
The disturbed student would "take herself to bridges", and couldn't shake "these fixed ideas about the virus".
She was very upset when she left the hospital, Dr Hook added.
Matthew Houghton said Emily was admitted in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic, and was "frightened and scared".
Her treatment before being sectioned showed a pattern of short-term admissions, leading up to her death. She had been seeing a psychiatrist and a therapist before being discharged in April 2019.
She spent a month without treatment but was readmitted in May. What followed was another week out of the hospital before readmission.
After a swab gave Emily a negative Covid-19 result, her fears appeared to be waning.
But, the academic "just broke down in tears".
Emily, described as "very bright" by those who knew her, was experiencing psychotic symptoms and was very anxious about starting a new job.
She reacted with hostility after the discharge meeting of October 30, and said she was "unhappy" at the staff's decision.
Staff said she refused to take her medication with her, claiming she had spare at home.
“I think she was unhappy to be leaving [the hospital],” said Mr Houghton.
“She was quite angry with the decision [to discharge her].”
Friend Ewan Murray, who works as a maths teacher, recalled Emily self-harming and keeping the blood in a syringe which she used to feed her plants.
Ewan contacted Emily three days before her death on October 24, but she didn't respond.
A day before her death, Emily had a planned Zoom meeting with Ewan and others, but did not attend.
Her friend went to Emily's home, where he found a "note to her therapist" and messages from a support worker.
Emily's personal notes scribbled during sessions included annotations saying "I'll kill myself".
Alison McGrath, a mental health nurse, said though Emily received a good standard of care, she was "concerned" at how a patient could leave the ward and take their own life so quickly afterwards.
Emily's psychiatric condition was "very complex", she said, adding there were reasons why she was discharged, and that there were "advantages" to doing so.
"The steps that were taken at that time were right, although no-one expected this outcome,” added Ms McGrath.
A pathologist gave the cause of death as drowning, with the coroner recording a conclusion of suicide.
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