After her 17-year-old son Charlie Belmore-Hawkes was discovered dead in a nearby woodland on October 2 of last year, Harriet Belmore, 36, was devastated.
She overindulged in medicine and alcohol five days after the death of her only child, yet she consistently refused mental health therapy.
On October 31, the laser aesthetics professional, who had expressed her desire to spend more time with her son, was discovered hanging at her Taverham, Norfolk, home. At two different inquests that took place at Norwich’s Norfolk Coroner’s Court only minutes apart, the terrible details of their deaths were revealed.
Days before Charlie passed away, according to evidence presented at his inquest, he got into a fight with his fiancée of three years. According to Norfolk Police Det Sgt Matthew Hendry, the argument flared up after he and his ex-girlfriend went to a music festival. Following an argument, he said his girlfriend told him she wanted to take a break.
A few days later, Charlie, an apprentice bricklayer who had just started work, was discovered hanging in a wooded area off Eastfields in Taverham. After the fight, Charlie was the happiest he had ever been, according to Miss Belmore, who had broken up with her son’s father.
Reporting to Charlie’s inquest, Det Sgt Hendry stated: ‘His family was caring and responsible on both sides, and they obviously loved him very much. “His parents had never seen him this low; he was obviously having a lot of difficulty with this.” In a narrative conclusion, senior coroner for Norfolk, Jacqueline Lake, stated that Charlie had “taken his own life but the evidence does not reveal his intentions at the time.”
Miss Belmore was brought to accident and emergency at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on October 7, 2018, following an overdose of medication and drink, according to information presented at a separate hearing. When she informed a member of the mental health liaison team that she wanted to be discharged, the hospital staff withheld the initial recommendation that she be given a mental health assessment.
The crisis team at the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust was then referred to Miss Belmore. On October 11, when team members paid her a visit at her mother’s house, she reiterated her request to not receive any support, according to the inquest. Two days later she was freed from crisis services.
In a statement delivered in court, Melissa Moss, an NSFT crisis nurse, said that Miss Belmore had informed the team she was “fine” and that she found offers of support to be “patronising.” After that, Ms. Moss said she had spoken with Miss Belmore’s mother Frances and given her the team’s contact information as well as information about additional resources for support.
However, Miss Belmore received CPR when she was discovered unconscious in her house on October 31 and was pronounced dead there and then. Ms. Lake noted that Miss Belmore’s death was a suicide. “She self-discharged from the hospital on October 7 and did not engage with mental health services or her GP thereafter,” the coroner stated.