Discussion BBC News: Blogger, 26, died after ordering poisonous substance online, inquest hears

[Jojogu]

Some sad news today:

A patient at a secure psychiatric hospital in Stockport died after taking a poisonous substance she ordered online, an inquest has heard.

Beth Matthews, 26, died a short time after taking the substance, which she told staff was protein powder, in March last year.

Ms Matthews, originally from Cornwall, was described in court as "bright and vivacious".

She was a well-known mental health blogger with thousands of followers.

Her inquest heard that she was being treated on a secure ward at the Priory, Cheadle Royal for a personality disorder.

The court was told that paramedics were called on 21 March after reports Ms Matthews had taken an overdose.

Assistant Coroner Andrew Bridgman told the jury Ms Matthews had "ingested a substance that came through the post, quite quickly became unwell, was taken urgently to hospital where she sadly died".

In a statement, paramedic Kate Barnes said that when she arrived staff at the unit told her that Ms Matthews "had a parcel delivered to the unit, which she opened in front of them and managed to consume".

Inside the parcel was "a small plastic, screw top container".

If you are affected by any of the issues in this article you can find details of organisations that can help via the BBC Action Line.

Ms Matthews swallowed "an unknown amount" of the substance it contained and had apparently told staff the package contained "protein powder", the inquest heard.

Ms Barnes was told that patients were allowed to open their own parcels if supervised by staff.

The jury was told that the package had "foreign writing on it" and that the substance had apparently "been bought on the internet".

A statement from Ms Matthews' mother Jane was also read to the court.

She said her daughter was "an incredible character" who was "bright and vivacious" and who "lit up the lives" of everyone she met.

She loved sport and excelled at sailing, completing the gruelling Fastnet race at the age of 15.

The jury heard that in 2019 after a suicide attempt Ms Matthews suffered life-changing injuries.

She blogged about her recovery and her own mental health, gaining thousands of followers on Twitter.

Jane Matthews said her daughter had been able to help those who reached out to her and touched so many lives.

The inquest continues and is expected to finish next week.

BBC News

 

[SamTam33]

It could be SN. They might confirm before the inquest is complete.

According to previous stories, her prior suicide attempt was a jump from 50 feet, and she suffered nerve damage, broken bones, paralyzed bladder, paralyzed bowel, and a paralyzed foot.

Just FYI because posters often consider these "short" jumps.

 

[FuneralCry]

That person is so fortunate to be free from this horrific world. I envy and admire those who choose to voluntarily exit so much, they are lucky to be unable to suffer anymore. I see beauty in preventing potentially decades of torment. It's not sad at all that someone refused to delay their inevitable fate.

 

[Doombox]

That's amazing that she was able to pull that off while an inpatient.

 

[MaidenException]

I wonder if inpatient moved up her bus date. I've heard nothing but horror stories about inpatient— it's absolutely dehumanizing. But she chose to leave on her own terms and with dignity.

 

[spinningship]

What a cock up by a "secure" psychiatric hospital. Why on earth would you let patients order whatever with zero checks.

 

[randy]

 

[Endex]

She was determined to go and worked out a plan. Agree they cocked up in a monumental way by letting this happen. Feel for her family and friends, but like I say she was determined to leave. I wonder if they will ever tell us what she ingested.

 

[randy]

Following a post-mortem, pathologist Dr Andrew Yates said he believed her cause of death was 1A) Methemoglobinemia caused by 1B) 'poisoning' of the substance.

 

[Pluto]

RIP. It's awful that she suffered as she did, but people do not get personality disorders for no reason and do not attempt suicide for no reason. The extent of her injuries could have made her a reasonable candidate for euthanasia, or at least not trying to be a public figure and taking on even more pressure to save others.

Attention should turn towards the possible past trauma, systemic negligence and other issues left out of the media's narrative, as this is where there may be a real hope of helping others avoid a similar fate.

 

[BluesRunTheGame]

I'm not surprised it was methemoglobinemia; this case had SN written all over it. Her life must've been bad enough before the first attempt so she must have been in some hell living with the fallout from that jump. RIP.

 

[GasMonkey]

Poor girl, it's sad to see somebody so young and beautiful destroy her life due to bad brain wiring / brain chemistry.

 

[Someone123]

It makes you wonder if the inpatients here could order firearms through the mail or maybe some hand grenades or dynamite.

 

[GasMonkey]

I wonder if she had an account here.

 

[MaidenException]

RIP. It's awful that she suffered as she did, but people do not get personality disorders for no reason and do not attempt suicide for no reason. The extent of her injuries could have made her a reasonable candidate for euthanasia, or at least not trying to be a public figure and taking on even more pressure to save others.

Attention should turn towards the possible past trauma, systemic negligence and other issues left out of the media's narrative, as this is where there may be a real hope of helping others avoid a similar fate.

That's the part that gets me. Her mother said she was very "vivacious" but happy people without problems don't attempt suicide. The tragedy began long before her first attempt but like always, the media doesn't focus on the systemic causes that lead to poor mental health and instead throws a pity party after the fact.

 

[Someone123]

It could be SN. They might confirm before the inquest is complete.

Based on the description it acted much more quickly than sn does, so it seems not that likely that it was sn. Also it turns the skin blue and paramedics usually know the antidote for this. Thbey may not release info about the substance to avoid copycats. It coulod only be sn if she took it back in her room and no one checked o0n her for 1 -4 hours- then it could be,

 

[Jojogu]

UPDATE:

A mental health blogger who took her own life by swallowing a poisonous substance was failed by the psychiatric hospital caring for her, a jury has found.

Beth Matthews, 26, died a short time after taking the substance, which she had ordered online and told staff was protein powder in March last year.

She was being treated at the Priory Hospital Cheadle Royal in Stockport.

BBC News

 

[UKscotty]

Probably Potassium Cyanide rather than SN, it sounds a lot quicker. SN in a hospital would be a bad idea, it takes far too long and it is far too unreliable.

 

[Shu]

Probably Potassium Cyanide rather than SN, it sounds a lot quicker. SN in a hospital would be a bad idea, it takes far too long and it is far too unreliable.

"fAr tOo unRelIabLe" my ass.

 

[Ernest1964]

She was determined to go and worked out a plan. Agree they cocked up in a monumental way by letting this happen. Feel for her family and friends, but like I say she was determined to leave. I wonder if they will ever tell us what she ingested.

I love your photo. Isn't that the bus from "Into the Wild"?

 

[Per Ardua Ad Astra]

Other than actual poison— Inquest reported daily — tidbits of info :

1. Ms M had a compassionate confidante and honest Nurse, Re: Euthanasia

2. Eight packages arrived that fateful day— what did they contain?

3. Phone downloaded 100k pages data ?

*4. Website visited sounds familiar… ?

5. Ms M. warned / told staff repeatedly of her plans— down to the last minute

6. Descriptive determination and fight against restraints to get that powder ingested

Per ardua ad astra

Probably Potassium Cyanide rather than SN, it sounds a lot quicker. SN in a hospital would be a bad idea, it takes far too long and it is far too unreliable.

Quicker than powered N ?

1 hour to CTB — via Inquest

 

[Endex]

I love your photo. Isn't that the bus from "Into the Wild"?

Yes it is, your the first person to recognise it, I really liked this film when I was into watching movies. The book was better as they usually are. And his sisters book had the missing truth that she had originally held back from John Krakauer.

 

[enviro400mmc]

Anyone else pissed off by the media's obsession with covering how she was able to CTB without putting a single thought into the idea that maybe we should talk about why she wanted to end her life in the first place?

No one cares about whether suicidal people are better, they just care whether they are alive.

 

[NoHorizon]

Anyone else pissed off by the media's obsession with covering how she was able to CTB without putting a single thought into the idea that maybe we should talk about why she wanted to end her life in the first place?

No one cares about whether suicidal people are better, they just care whether they are alive.

It's my biggest frustration with how suicide prevention is tackled. All the effort and resources are put into stopping the means of suicide and there's a deafening silence when it comes to addressing the reasons people want to die.

I'm all for stopping as many suicides as possible - by improving people's lives so that they want to live.

 

[Per Ardua Ad Astra]

Anyone else pissed off by the media's obsession with covering how she was able to CTB without putting a single thought into the idea that maybe we should talk about why she wanted to end her life in the first place?

No one cares about whether suicidal people are better, they just care whether they are alive.

Agreed

Media should have reported / referenced specifically her very personal Blog / Diary.

She was very candid / introspective about her family / friends — and she described her painful experiences/ losses —and explained her reasons for her ultimate breakdowns and choices.

Her Blog is still online— still there now :

https://lifebeyondtheledge.wordpress.com/

RIP

 

[Superdeterminist]

RIP, her life was very hard. I don't agree with that first tweet of hers though. There is a regret pervading that message but obviously anyone would feel that way, if having to deal with the aftermath of survival. There's nothing to learn, it's what we already know. So it's not so much a mistake as it is a misfortune, to survive when you wanted to die. RIP though.

 

[wait.what]

That poor young woman. The pain she must have been in to be so desperate. Something must have utterly demolished her. And she was a well-regarded mental health blogger, too. I wondered what she'd had to say, and if it seemed like her mental health system had listened. I rather suspect not. I couldn't find her blog, though. She had a Twitter account, but it appears either to be down or deleted. Perhaps traffic crashed it? Can that even happen on Twitter…?

Probably Potassium Cyanide rather than SN, it sounds a lot quicker. SN in a hospital would be a bad idea, it takes far too long and it is far too unreliable.

The Priory is an ultra-posh psyche hospital. Kate Moss went there. I don't think it's connected to a regular hospital, though. Tony psyche hospitals are typically free-standing. There's no reason to expect that they'd have methylene blue on hand. They'd have to call an ambulance like anyone there,

*4. Website visited sounds familiar… ?

Did they mention SaSu by name, or was it some similar-sounding made-up one? I'd expect the BBC to be sensible enough not to stick the actual domain name in the headline of the story. Of course, I expected better from the NYT too. "OUR BABIES ARE DYING BECAUSE THEY GO TO THIS WEBSITE WHOSE URL WE WILL NOW POST SO IT STANDS VISIBLY ABOVE OUR PAYWALL." I'll never understand that. I think this site should exist, but I think it should be hard to find. The suicides that should never happen are the impulsive ones. Keeping the idly curious away would help.

Anyone else pissed off by the media's obsession with covering how she was able to CTB without putting a single thought into the idea that maybe we should talk about why she wanted to end her life in the first place?

"B-but, suicides are just crazy people. They don't do things for reasons!!"

Most people see us as Halloween costumes and horror movie villains: "What's the reason The Man With A Hook For A Hand kills teenage couples parked in lovers' lanes? Who knows? It doesn't matter. He's crazy."

Honestly? I expect that this public attitude contributed in some degree to Beth Matthews' suicide. People need to get over that childish perspective and move on.

 

[spacehardware]

I've been following the daily updates from the inquest on news sites for the last week or so. Having been inpatient in psych wards in the UK (thankfully not Cheadle) I can just picture how it all must have unfolded, the package, the restraint. I read about suicides all the time but this one lingers in my thoughts a lot. It sounds like she was in a bad way after her bridge jump. At least the unnamed poison enabled a quick exit in the end. I hope she's free of pain and suffering on the other side.

 

[leaf23]

I couldn't find her blog, though. She had a Twitter account, but it appears either to be down or deleted. Perhaps traffic crashed it? Can that even happen on Twitter…?

Blocked/region restricted maybe? I can still access them:

https://twitter.com/BethMatthewsz

Life Beyond The Ledge

Ramblings about my life, my mental health & my physical rehabilitation following my suicide attempt. “They say don’t look back, but sometimes it’s important to see how far you’v…

lifebeyondtheledge.wordpress.com

 

[BluesRunTheGame]

I haven't watched it yet but UK viewers can watch a BBC News doc about her here.