The inquest into the death of mum-of-two Nicola Bulley, who drowned in the River Wyre in Lancashire in January, has revealed the full timeline of her final hours.
Nicola Bulley went missing in January of this year after dropping her two daughters off at school. She then took her usual walk with her dog before going missing. A dog walker then found her dog “loose”. Her phone was found connected to her morning Teams call on a bench nearby.
It was revealed that Nicola’s death was caused by drowning. The inquest heard that she was alive when she fell in the River Wyre. The inquest also heard that the icy water in January this year could have killed her in just 10 seconds. The mother of two had not been drinking. There was no sign of attack or involvement of a second party. After internet sleuths made theories about her disapperance, Nicola’s body was found on February 17.
Timeline of Nicola Bulley’s last day
8.26am – Nicola Bulley pictured on her family’s Ring doorbell camera leaving her home in Inslip, Lancashire alongside her two daughters and the family dog, Willow, in her black Mercedes SUV.
8.33am – Dog walker Richard Fife (known to Nicola) passes a black-clad man as he enters Allotment Lane heading for the riverside path.
8.34am – Witnesses and CCTV place Nicola at the school as she drops off her daughters. Dog walker Richard Fife is in the fields beside the river with his dog.
8.41am – Second witness, David Hall, passes Nicola, who is walking towards the start of the riverside path, confirmed by her mobile phone data.
8.42am – Mobile phone analysis confirms Nicola starts to walk along the riverside path in the direction of the bench.
8.47am – Richard Fife leaves the “lower” field. He passes Nicola who is walking the other way with her phone held out in front of her.
Nicola’s last messages
8.48am – Handset location data shows Nicola’s phone in the lower field.
8.52am – Nicola, still in the lower field, receives a WhatsApp message from her sister Louise Cunningham. It is regarding plans for an upcoming spa day.
8.53:36am – Nicola also sends an email to her boss, Ben Pociacho at Exclusively Mortgages. It is regarding a mortgage client – she remains in the lower field.
8.55am approx – Claire Chesham, another mum on the school run, reaches the lower field and sees Nicola and Willow approaching the upper field.
8:59am – Now in the upper field, Nicola sends a Facebook message to another mother, Lucie Musella, arranging a kids’ playdate for the following afternoon. The message consists of a suggested time and smiley face emoji.
9.01am – Nicola joins her work Teams call on her phone, putting herself on mute as it proceeds.
9.05-9.10am – Claire Chesham once again sees Nicola walking in a loop around the upper field. It is the last confirmed sighting of her alive as Claire Chesham returns back up the riverside path.
9.18am – Nicola receives another WhatsApp message about the spa day from ‘Tosh’ – her sister, Louise Cunningham. The message reads: “The difference of £22 I will cover for the dress mum got you at Christmas that you didn’t keep and I had x.” Lousie did not receive the blue ticks to confirm if Nicola read the message.
Nicola Bulley death: Her final movements
9.20am – Claire Chesham is pictured on CCTV leaving the top of Allotment Lane onto Blackpool Road.
9.20am – Three further handset pings place Nicola around the bench close to which Willow would later be found. Unusually, it is the last handset data for 10 minutes.
9.22am – Heartrate data on Nicola’s Fitbit peaks at around 100 BPM.
9.23am – Penny Fletcher is seen on her home CCTV leaving Wyreside Caravan Park at the bottom of Allotment Lane and walking through an area of scrub downstream from the bench.
9.33am – Penny Fletcher finds Willow near the river with an iPhone with its screen lit up on the bench.
9.35am – Keith Barlow is seen on CCTV walking his dog from Rowanwater caravan park next to the upper field; he spots and later speaks to Penny Fletcher by the bench.
9.36am-9.55am – From the garden of her home on Allotment Lane, Helen O’Neill hears a scream coming from the direction of the riverside path.
9.45am – After tying Willow to the bench with string and trying to memorise the number on her collar tag, Penny Fletcher is seen on CCTV walking back to the caravan back. She calls the number but has taken it down incorrectly so calls a local vet with no success. She then calls friend Susan Jones to pass on a message to her husband Roger – who is walking in own dog – about Willow.
9.50am – Another scream is heard from the direction of the riverside path, this time by Veronica Claesen at the village tennis club near the primary school.
Death of Nicola Bulley: Her husband called her six times
10.04am – Penny Fletcher calls her daughter-in-law Anne-Marie in the hope of identifying the spaniel’s owner.
10.10am – Roger Jones reaches the bench and finds Willow tied to it along with the phone. He calls his wife who informs him about what Penny Fletcher has told her about finding the dog running loose, then continues his own walk.
10.20am – At Allotment Lane, Norma Kershaw sees Susan Jones coming to assist Roger.
10.30am – Susan and Roger Jones plus Norma Kershaw congregate at the bench.
10.32am – The number of location readings on Nicola’s mobile phone increases, confirming the device is being handled and moved.
10.40am – The group place Willow on her harness and walks her back to the caravan park.
10.40am – Nicola’s husband, Paul Ansell, who is working from home, makes the first of six phone calls in seven minutes to his partner’s mobile, none of which are answered.
Death of Nicola Bulley: Mum-of-two reported missing at 11am
10.47am – Roger and Susan Jones alongside Norma Kershaw arrive back at Allotment Lane with Willow.
10.48am – Paul Ansell sends a WhatsApp message reading: “Have you got lost?” to Nicola.
10.50am – Anne-Marie Fletcher, Penny Fletcher’s daughter-in-law, recognises Willow as Nicola’s dog and calls her children’s school.
10.54am –Staff at St Michael’s Primary School call Paul.
10.56am – Ring doorbell footage from the family home in Inskip shows Paul Ansell setting off for St Michael’s Primary School.
10.57am – Paul calls Ann-Marie Fletcher and – according to Susan Jones’ evidence – confirms: “She’s struggling.”
11.00am – Paul Ansell dials 999 to report his wife as missing.
11.10am approx – Paul Ansell reaches the bench where he meets Anne-Marie Fletcher plus Susan and Roger Jones who have Willow and Nicola’s phone.
Nicola’s body was found in the river three weeks later, on February 17. The inquest heard that the icy water in January this year could have killed her in just 10 seconds.
Read more: Nicola Bulley’s frightening final moments detailed at inquest
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