Inquest: Schoolgirl of 17 hangs herself because she was struggling with lockdown, sixth grade work, and her body image.

  • Darcy Hollinson (age 17) suffered from lockdown. An inquest was held. 
  • Darcy, who lived in Devon, had issues bonding with friendship groups 
  • On the day of her death, she saw a child psychiatrist. The Exeter inquest was informed. 
  • Darcy, tragically, was found hanging in her bedroom in April 2013.
  • Samaritans can be reached at free number 116 123, or by visiting Samaritans.org. 










An inquest heard that a 17-year old schoolgirl, who was feeling under pressure due to extra work and had issues with her body image, committed suicide by hanging. 

Darcy Hollinson, who lived with her parents and siblings in Tavistock, Devon, had issues bonding with friendship groups and felt excluded, the inquest at Exeter Coroner’s Court was told today. 

Coroner said lockdown caused her to feel quite bad despite the fact that she had a boyfriend. He claimed that she suffered panic attacks and struggled to sleep, as well as bulimia.

Darcy, a pupil at the sixth form of Plymouth High School for Girls, last had contact with a female friend and they exchanged messages about relationships, mental health, suicide and the effect on their boyfriends.

The hearing revealed that the child psychiatrist she had seen on her last day was not suicidal and she was actually ‘planning the future’. 

Darcy was hanged in her bedroom last April, within 30 minutes of the last message she sent to her friend.

Darcy Hollinson, who lived with her parents and siblings in Tavistock, Devon, had issues bonding with friendship groups and felt excluded, the inquest at Exeter Coroner's Court was told today

Darcy Hollinson was a Devonian who lived with her family in Tavistock. Darcy had difficulties bonding with friend groups and felt excluded. This is what the Exeter Coroner’s Court inquest revealed today.

The coroner heard that 'lockdown affected her quite badly' because of isolation, despite having a 'lovely boyfriend' - who said she was suffering from panic attacks, was struggling to sleep and also had bulimia

According to the coroner, lockdown had affected her very badly due to isolation. This was despite having a boyfriend who was a good friend. She said that she suffered from panic attacks and was also struggling with sleep.

The death was confirmed by a post mortem and the police stated that no suspicious circumstances existed.

Philil Spinney, the senior Devon coroner, recorded a suicide verdict.

Darcy had self-inflicted harm and was suffering from poor body image as well as low mood while she was battling a depressive disorder.

Mister Spinney expressed condolences and said it was difficult to bear.

A post mortem confirmed the death by hanging and police said there were no suspicious circumstances

The death by hanging was confirmed post-mortem and the police stated that there weren’t any suspicious circumstances

Darcy overdosed on January 2018 

However, she did engage with Child and Adolescent Psychological Health Services in October 2019. She was in a “low mood and not enjoying sixth Form”

Her second overdose occurred in March 2020.

Samaritans can be reached at 116 123 for free or by visiting www.samaritans.org Samaritans.org  

Advertisement