Portsmouth trainee teacher, 27, discovered dead by her mum at Southsea home, inquest told

Eloise Day, a first class honours University of Portsmouth graduate, had been struggling with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder as long ago as 2011.

Known as Ellie to her family and friends, she was regarded as hard-working, kind and a ‘bright person’.

Speaking at a remote hearing at Portsmouth Coroner’s Court, her mother Alex Day said she had told her daughter that ‘she was a lovely person and that was why she was surrounded by lovely people’.

Her mother had been staying with her at her home in White Cloud Place, Southsea, and the pair had discussed Eloise’s suicidal thoughts on the evening of January 27 this year.

Two days later on January 29 she seemed more positive, and Eloise’s mother left the home at around 9am for a meeting.

When she returned home at 1.45pm she found her daughter unresponsive upstairs outside her bedroom.

A post mortem found she died by hanging. Coroner Jason Pegg today ruled the tragedy a suicide.

Mum Alex had assured her daughter she could talk to her about her suicidal thoughts. She told the inquest: ‘Ellie said as long as we were able to talk about it she wouldn’t do it.’

Her daughter had said she ‘felt damaged’ and the inquest heard she was having difficulty with finding direction in life.

Eloise, who was studying a teacher training course part-time, had previously graduated with a first in interior architecture and design.

She and her boyfriend Mark Godfrey had been helping paint her sister Alicia’s home in the week she died.

In a statement read in court Mark said he’d had an outburst about the painting.

The inquest also heard she had been ‘a bit worried’ about the painting they were doing.

Speaking at the inquest, mum Alex said: ‘She was a really kind person. She loved art and being creative.

‘She did struggle with anxiety and OCD but she was quite strong in that she worked really hard to combat those.

‘She was very loving and had a great sense of humour but she obviously did have this side of her that struggled.’

Evidence from her GP surgery heard that she had sought help but close to her death had not fully engaged with mental health provision.

Anyone needing help can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or 0330 094 5717.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.