13 March 2024 , 11:14
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A mum of three took her own life at home after police attempted a welfare check but were unsuccessful, an inquest into her death heard.
Officers had tried to check on 27-year-old Rhiana Jones after they were called by someone who feared she was suicidal. They knocked at her home address in St Athan, Barry in the afternoon of Sunday, August 6 last year but she did not answer the door, the hearing at Pontypridd Coroner’s Court was told.
One of the officers managed to get through to Ms Jones over the phone and she told him she was out walking her dog and needed to “clear her head”. The hearing was told the officers were “110% confident” that Ms Jones was not inside the property, as it sounded like she was outside. They did not conduct a detailed search of the area, including Ms Jones' back garden, nor look through the back windows of her house to see if she was inside.
Ms Jones assured police she would be back in 15 minutes but when she didn’t appear, they left. Within around 20 minutes of officers leaving, Ms Jones had taken her own life. Her family believe that when police spoke to her she was actually in the garden and that if the police officers had made more efforts to locate her “she would still be alive”, the court heard.
Rhiana Jones (right) with a friend before a night out (Denise Jones)The inquest was told Ms Jones had a history of mental health problems that began when she was a teenager. She was diagnosed with ADHD in childhood and was given medication for it, which she subsequently mixed with alcohol - something which her mother said she felt “was the start of Rhiana’s mental health issues.”
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The court heard Ms Jones had two girls, having first become pregnant at 19, before she gave birth to her son with a new partner in May 2022. It is after the birth of her son that Ms Jones developed postnatal depression, her mother Denise said.
The court heard that along with depression and anxiety, Ms Jones struggled with heavy drinking and a gambling addiction. She had previously overdosed and had thoughts about self-harm, and had received help for her struggles, including from her GP and a counsellor.
A toxicology report found there was cocaine, alcohol, co-codamol, paracetamol and sertraline in Ms Jones' blood after she died. It concluded that she had “used or had administered a number of drugs prior to death”, but the levels of these drugs were not at deadly levels.
Police conducted a welfare check on Rhiana Jones (right) (Denise Jones)The inquest was told that on the day she died, Ms Jones' ex partner had taken their son away from her home earlier in the day after he arrived and found her “intoxicated” in bed and bottles of alcohol in the property. At around 1pm, Ms Jones took an overdose of medication, which prompted her ex partner’s mother to call police to conduct a welfare check.
PC Geraint Lewis and PC Elliot Parry of South Wales Police carried out the check and appeared at the inquest. Pc Lewis said: “Rhiana told me she was out with her dog and she needed to clear her head." Asked by assistant coroner Gavin Knox whether he had challenged Ms Jones on whether she was telling the truth that she was walking her dog - given the fact there was a dog in the house - Pc Lewis said he did not as “she could’ve had more than one dog”.
When Ms Jones hadn’t returned by 3.22pm, Pc Lewis tried to call her again but got no response and at 3.37pm they left the scene, with Ms Jones now classed as a missing person. Later, at 4pm, another police officer had managed to get hold of an unnamed and unidentified friend of Ms Jones who told them she had returned safely home - meaning she was no longer classed as a missing person.
The inquest Ms Jones' close friend, Svenja Williams visited and she told her that her ex-partner had taken away their son and “she had lost everything”. But Ms Williams said the pair talked about how the situation could be resolved, and there was no immediate concern Ms Jones would try to take her own life.
Rhiana Jones (right) was a mum of three (Denise Jones)Ms Jones said she needed a nap, asking if Ms Williams could “take the dog out for a wee” to a nearby park. While taking the dog out, Ms Williams called Ms Jones parents to express her concern and they arrived in “five to 10 minutes” - but during this time Ms Jones had died.
Ms Jones' mother told the hearing that there was “no way Rhiana would have hurt herself” and “must have been totally desperate” as she thought she wasn’t going to get her son back. She called for an inquiry into her daughter’s death, telling the inquest she believed the police and Ms Jones' ex-partner were “responsible” for her death and that mental health services had “failed” her daughter, who “didn’t get the support she needed”.
Delivering his findings, Mr Knox said “on the balance of probabilities Ms Jones had not left her home when she spoke to PC Lewis” and “was likely to have been in the garden at the time”, adding “it’s entirely plausible that music at front of house would not be heard at the back”.
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In terms of whether a successful welfare check by the police officers would have stopped Ms Jones taking her own life, Mr Knox said “it may have possibly, but I can’t say it would’ve probably”, adding that he “can’t say any act or omission on the part of police contributed to Ms Jones’ death”.
“On the balance of probabilities, I find Ms Jones did intend to take her own life…I do accept her taking her own life was to some degree impulsive… I accept she might not have thought through all the consequences for her family, particularly her children, “ Mr Knox said. He recorded a conclusion of suicide.
Speaking after the hearing, Ms Jones' mother Denise said she had been left “devastated” by her daughter's suicide. “My whole life has changed. I can’t switch this off, this is my life, and I’m just broken. I have to fight to go through the day.”