A grieving mum whose soulmate took his own life hanged herself in similar circumstances just months later, an inquest heard.
Doting mum Jenna Greenwood, 31, a health care assistant at Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax, was found hanged at her home on the afternoon of May 7 2017, by an ex-partner who was returning her two young children.
Bradford Coroner’s Court heard that she was in debt and was suffering from depression and sleeping problems as she struggled to come to terms with her partner’s death in August 2016.
So intense was her grief that her father Stephen Greenwood told the hearing that his daughter had even consulted a medium in the aftermath of his death.
But coroner Martin Fleming heard evidence that Jenna’s death came as a bolt from the blue to her loving and supportive family and friends, several of whom attended the hearing.
Only the night before he said she had attended a family BBQ and said “no-one had any cause to have any concerns about her.”
However, he said on the afternoon of May 7 her ex-partner found her “in very, very distressing circumstances” at her immaculately kept home in Mytholmroyd.
Mr Fleming said she had embarked on a new relationship in 2014 with someone several years younger than herself.
However, he said her joy in the relationship was short-lived as he took his own life less than two years later. He said: “I’m told that she took this really badly and struggled to come to terms with it.“
He said she was doing her best to cope with the loss as well as “doing her best to work and bringing up two young children. She was having counselling and seemed to be coping. She seemed to be in good spirits.”
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Samaritans: Phone 116 123, 24 hours a day, or email jo@samaritans.org, in confidence
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Mr Greenwood, of Bridlington, was asked by the coroner whether she had ever said she had “dark thoughts” or had ever expressed any intention of hurting herself.
He replied: “I know she had gone to see a medium, a fortune teller if you like. Unfortunately these people prey on people’s misery.”
Mr Fleming said it appeared to be a “one-off visit” and said it appeared to be “an attempt to find some comfort” to which her father replied: “Solace, yes.”
The coroner said it was clear from her GP’s statement that the heart-breaking loss of her partner who had died in similar circumstances had had a big impact on her.
He said there were no suspicious circumstances and concluded that she had taken her own life. He described hearing the inquest as “desperately sad.”
If you, or someone close to you is struggling, the Samaritans can be contacted 24 hours hours a day, seven days a week, on 116 123.
