An inquiry into the death of Nicola Bulley began yesterday (Monday, June 26) and is continuing today (Tuesday, June 27).
During today’s inquest, Nicola’s sister revealed that the late mother-of-two was getting back to her “normal self” after a mental health “blip”, just days before her death.
Nicola Bulley was getting back to her “normal self” after mental health “blip”
Today sees the second day of the inquiry into Nicola’s death take place.
During today’s inquiry, Nicola’s sister, Louise, wept as she revealed that Nicola was getting back to her “normal self” after a “mental health” blip. The “blip” saw Louise ring 999 for Nicola, just days before her tragic death.
Paying tribute to her big sister, Louise branded Nicola “absolutely brilliant”. She also said that Nicola never confided in her about having suicidal thoughts.
“If this was something she had thought about, taking her own life, would she just leave the dog in the field and go?” Coroner Dr James Adeley asked. “Absolutely not. There is no way Nikki would leave Willow unattended,” Louise replied.
Sister of Nicola Bulley rang 999 after mum-of-two’s mental health blip
The inquest heard today that on January 10, just over two weeks before her death, police had been called to Nicola’s home by Louise.
The inquest was told that Louise had called a mental health team asking for “some assistance”. Nicola’s family had become concerned with the 45-year-old’s increased alcohol use. She also allegedly said “she didn’t want to be here”.
“It was a bit of a wake-up call for her I think. She was fuming with me for calling the ambulance, she thought I had overreacted and maybe I did, but she is my sister and I was concerned,” Louise said.
“She started to get back to normal after that,” she then added.
Nicola’s cause of death revealed
Yesterday saw the cause of Nicola’s death was revealed. Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour – who carried out the post-mortem – put Nicola’s cause of death down to drowning.
During the inquest, Doctor Armour said that she believes Nicola was still alive when she fell into the river. She also said that there had been no sign that Nicola had been assaulted or harmed before her death.
The river was around 4C on the day Nicola fell in, so “almost freezing”. “If she fell in, the muscles would probably seize, making it difficult to swim properly,” PC Thackray said.
Professor Michael Tipton, an expert at the University of Portsmouth, said that just two breaths of the almost freezing water would have been a “lethal dose”. He also said that Nicola would likely have lost consciousness immediately.
Read more: Nicola Bulley’s cause of death confirmed as inquest answers five key questions
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