Suicide ruling quashed after toxic pill death

A coroner's verdict that a woman died by suicide after taking unlicensed slimming aid pills has been quashed at the High Court.

Beth Shipsey, 21, died from the toxic effects of Dinitrophenol (DNP) in 2017. Her parents brought legal action seeking to remove part of the senior coroner for Worcestershire's conclusions that she had died intentionally.

Lady Justice Macur, sitting with Mrs Justice Hill, agreed, based on new evidence showing Ms Shipsey's social media use in the hours before her death.

Her parents said the coroner dismissed "information available to him" which led to seven years of "psychological and financial harm to the family".

Doug and Carole Shipley have always maintained their daughter, from Worcester, never intended to take her own life.

The coroner found there were "significant failings" in her care from Worcestershire Royal Hospital but did not find this to be the cause of death.

The judges said Ms Shipsey had a "long history" of mental health difficulties including an eating disorder and self-harm.

She had previously taken 14 overdoses. On 7 January 2017, she went into hospital after reporting "suicidal ideation" and went home on 15 February.

The same afternoon, she took DNP pills and messaged friends about what she had done.

After 17:00 GMT, Ms Shipsey was taken into the emergency department of the Worcestershire Royal where she went into cardiac arrest hours later and was pronounced dead at 22:00 GMT.

New evidence submitted after the coroner's verdict included messages she sent to her boyfriend on the day of her death saying she had done something "really stupid".

She told her brother she had taken "herbal diet pills" and said "I'll see you later".

Her mother, Carole Shipsey, provided further messages from that day suggesting her daughter was in a light mood.

Mrs Justice Hill said: "It is the court's hope that this judgment affords the claimants and those concerned in the NHS trusts at least some closure."

In a statement on Friday, Ms Shipsey's parents said: "The experience has been utterly brutal and arduous from start to finish."

Yogi Amin, from law firm Irwin Mitchell, which represented the parents, said the record of inquest would be amended "to remove the references to any suicidal intent".

"The High Court heard new evidence that Bethany didn't understand what pills, that resulted in her death, she was taking," he added.

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