Student suicide over binge drink

A student killed herself after a row with her boyfriend over her binge drinking problems, an inquest heard yesterday.

Sophie Banks, 21, was drunk when she met Wayne Simpson, 24, in a club last Boxing Day night and stormed off after they rowed.

She was found hanged the next day. The inquest heard the forensic psychology student had studied different ways for people to die - including hanging.

Wayne told the hearing: "Sophie was already drunk and her sister said 'You need to talk to her'.

"I said I would when she was sober. I thought we could sort it in the morning."
Wayne went to her house Falmouth at 2am to find his belongings in the street and Sophie saying it was over.

In the three months she dated Wayne, Sophie - who had a history of self-harming - had cut herself twice and when he got home he was so concerned he called police.
Two officers called at her house, but did not enter.

Next day, mum Andrea and sister Samantha found Sophie hanged from a banister with a scarf.

A postmortem showed she had 181 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood - more than twice the drink-drive limit.

Sophie's GP Dr Rob Beckett said he had referred her to a specialist who recommended she seek help for binge drinking. He said: "She was anxious, but not depressed. She had no suicidal thoughts, but she was binge drinking once or twice a week."
Andrea said: "She just didn't want to be here - it's as simple as that."

She added Sophie had studied books on suicide at Camborne College.
She said: "She did a section on how people could take their lives, including hanging. She knew what to do and meant to do it." Verdict: Suicide.

She sent me texts saying she wanted to find peace and I think now she has.