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.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Vodka bet binge kills student, 19
A STUDENT died of alcohol poisoning after pals challenged him to a £40 bet to down an almost full bottle of vodka.
Jason Venezia, 19, was dared to sink three-quarters of a litre at a rate of one shot every 45 seconds.
Twenty minutes later he had polished off half a litre in 15 shots and was so drunk he couldn’t stand or speak properly, an inquest heard yesterday.
Friends carried him to bed and checked on him every 15 minutes for two hours to make sure he did not choke on his own vomit.
But Jason, who was in his first year studying psychology at Warwick University, was found dead from acute alcohol poisoning at 2pm the next day.
His blood contained an incredible 499mg of alcohol — more than SIX TIMES the drink-drive limit of 80mg.
The inquest came four days after the BBC screened shocking footage of University of Gloucestershire students taking part in a Nazi-style drinking initiation.
Jason’s heartbroken parents, Ennio and Joan Venezia, from Solihull, West Midlands, demanded a ban on boozing games and called for the legal age for drinking to be raised from 18 to 21.
Mum Joan, 54, said: “Jason was not a heavy drinker. It’s hard to believe one night out with his friends led to this.
“Students need to know that their drinking games can lead to sudden death. Jason’s death is a devastating loss that we are struggling to come to terms with. We miss him deeply.”
Coventry coroner Sean McGovern said Jason died from alcohol misuse. Recording a misadventure verdict, he added: “We hope lessons will be learned, but it happens all the time.”
Jason Venezia, 19, was dared to sink three-quarters of a litre at a rate of one shot every 45 seconds.
Twenty minutes later he had polished off half a litre in 15 shots and was so drunk he couldn’t stand or speak properly, an inquest heard yesterday.
Friends carried him to bed and checked on him every 15 minutes for two hours to make sure he did not choke on his own vomit.
But Jason, who was in his first year studying psychology at Warwick University, was found dead from acute alcohol poisoning at 2pm the next day.
His blood contained an incredible 499mg of alcohol — more than SIX TIMES the drink-drive limit of 80mg.
The inquest came four days after the BBC screened shocking footage of University of Gloucestershire students taking part in a Nazi-style drinking initiation.
Jason’s heartbroken parents, Ennio and Joan Venezia, from Solihull, West Midlands, demanded a ban on boozing games and called for the legal age for drinking to be raised from 18 to 21.
Mum Joan, 54, said: “Jason was not a heavy drinker. It’s hard to believe one night out with his friends led to this.
“Students need to know that their drinking games can lead to sudden death. Jason’s death is a devastating loss that we are struggling to come to terms with. We miss him deeply.”
Coventry coroner Sean McGovern said Jason died from alcohol misuse. Recording a misadventure verdict, he added: “We hope lessons will be learned, but it happens all the time.”
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