A teenage
girl who threw herself in front of a train used school computers to
access a pro-suicide website and exchanged thousands of Facebook
messages about taking her own life, her inquest has heard.
Amber
Jackson, 15, accessed the website from the computer at Bitterne Park
School in Southampton where she spoke with other teens about self harm
and suicide.
The
youngster, who had fears about her upcoming GCSE exams jumped in front
of train near her home in Southampton on September 1, 2015.
Amber Jackson, pictured, spoke online more than 17,000 times about wanting to take her own life
Amber's
father, Tony Jackson, told the the inquest, he was very concerned about
his daughter's use of a pro-suicide website while using a school
computer.
The
site, the hearing heard, allowed people to publish their own fan
fiction stories and exchange their experiences of self-harm and plans
for suicide.
Mr Jackson told the inquest: 'It was not until after her death that we identified this website.
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'Amber acted almost in the role of a counsellor to these girls who shared their problems with her. She acted as a confidante.
'We feel, to an extent, that what influenced Amber was that she burdened herself with everyone's problems.
'Younger
people have used the site almost as a journal to document their issues
of self harm. The site was accessed at Amber's school, and during school
hours using school equipment. The school never to our satisfaction
addressed our concerns about it.
'We
asked another pupil if the website was accessible at the school and she
said it was, despite the school saying their firewall would take care
of it.
'We
feel very strongly that children at senior school level feel a great
deal of pressure to perform academically and in some cases this pressure
is relieved in damaging ways, and this website is one of those ways.'
Amber Jackson's father Tony, left,
told the inquest that his daughter had accessed pro-suicide websites
using computers at her school where she and fellow young people would
discuss self-harm
Mr
Jackson said that Amber was very concerned about her GCSE's and she
felt that achieving anything less than good results was unacceptable.
Her parents in fact had to counter the pressure piled on by the school
and reassure her that if she was not to get top marks it would not
affect the rest of her life.
He
recollected a holiday to Tunisia five months before her death where she
brought revision notes and sat doing schoolwork around the hotel
swimming pool.
The
coroner heard that Amber had also been affected by a series of 'nasty
messages' she had received from a friend the night before her death.
The
same night, Amber went on Facebook and started inquiring in a group
chat if anybody knew anything about CCTV coverage at train stations.
Mr
Jackson told the coroner that Amber's peer group of friends had an
influence on her behaviour as conversation topics such as suicide became
the norm, and he even recalled seeing a friend of hers at the funeral
who had slashes on her arms.
'Because
of the peer group she associated with there was a lot of negative
influence and normalised discussion of suicide and self harm,' Mr
Jackson continued.
'We do feel this group of peers from the school had an influence on Amber.'
Amber Jackson's inquest heard the schoolgirl discussed her funeral playlist with a friend on Whatsapp
Speaking
very highly of his daughter, Mr Jackson added: 'She was a very
intelligent, caring person and she would always put others before
herself.
'As a teenager she was almost too good. There was no running upstairs and slamming doors. She was really quite delightful.'
Coroner Sarah Whitby heard that at approximately 11.40am on September 1, 2015, Ms Jackson jumped in front of the train.
The
inquest, which was held in Winchester, Hampshire heard from pathologist
Sanjay Jogai who described Ms Jackson's injuries as 'unsurvivable'.
The
coroner heard that Amber, who sought a counsellor for depression while
attending Bitterne Park School, had a number of conversations with
friends about disliking school and discussed suicide.
Ms
Jackson contacted counsellor Debra Fleet three weeks before her death
and told her in a text message that she 'wanted to fade away.'
Detective
Constable Tony Gittins, from the British Transport Police, spoke with a
number of Amber's friends following her tragic death.
'Amber was described by one friend, who she visited just 40 minutes prior to her death, as "inward",' said Det. Con Gittins.
'She
elaborated that Amber did not talk about her feelings and would bottle
things up. Amber did not like school and was not looking forward to
going back later that week after the summer break.
'Her
friend said Amber felt under pressure with GCSE exams coming up and was
fairly apprehensive of results for science exams she was due to receive
after the break,' added the officer.
'Amber was not bullied at school but other people would occasionally say mean comments about her.'
Suzanne, Amber's mother, broke down in tears as she heard of her daughter's anxieties about returning to school.
Amber Jackson's inquest heard the
15-year-old school girl accessed pro-suicide websites using the
computers at Bitterne Park School in Southampton and was worried about
her GCSE exams
The
coroner heard that Det. Con.Gittins went 'above and beyond' his call of
duty in helping the family investigate the circumstances surrounding
their daughter's death.
In
new evidence which was not previously submitted to the coroner's office
but was asked to be explored by the family, the inquest heard that
thousands of social media conversations had been uncovered in which
Amber spoke of ending her life.
A legal representative for the family said: 'There were 28,000 Facebook messages between Amber and [her friend].
'It
is the family's position that they are saying approximately 60 per cent
of those messages, so by doing the maths in excess of 14,000, maybe
even between 16,000 and 17,000, touch upon the subject of suicide or
suicidal ideation.
'There
was also a Whatsapp conversation between Amber and a friend in July
last year which makes reference to Amber writing out her funeral
playlist of songs. That playlist has been collected.'
The
inquest heard that the day before her death Amber visited three
friends. However, the conversations that took place within the peer
group were dismissed by the coroner as evidence, despite protestations
by the family's solicitor who believed they may have invited access into
Amber's state of mind shortly before her death.
Coroner Ms Whitby said: 'I know there were ups and downs in the friendship group and I know there were conversations of suicide.
'She
was a teenage girl going through a maelstrom of emotions but I do not
see how this evidence can assist me in answering the question of how she
came by her death.'
Recording
a narrative verdict, Mrs Whitby said: 'To consider a conclusion of
suicide I must be sure that Amber's intention was to take her own life.
'Amber
was a much-loved member of a secure family. She had a character that
led her to have low self esteem but she was very concerned about helping
other people.
'Her
family are very concerned about self-harm and suicide sites on the
internet and they have commented on Amber and her friends' involvement
in these.
'I am aware that the safeguarding children board are investigating these concerns.
'I
will record that on September 1 2015 Amber deliberately jumped onto the
tracks in front of a non-stop moving train and died at the scene as a
result of the impact and a significant head injury.
'I
cannot be sure of what her intent was and take into account the
maelstrom of life a teenager goes through and conflicting emotions.
'Amber deliberately chose to jump in front of the train but evidence as to her state of mind does not explain whether or not she intended the outcome to be fatai
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