Bridesmaid Hangs Herself Hours After Attending Sister’s Wedding

Rebecca Darnell, 30, hanged herself hours after attending her sister’s wedding, wearing her bridesmaid’s dress.

Earlier in the evening she had been the “life and soul of the party” as head bridesmaid at her older sister, Joanna’s wedding, helping organise people at the wedding and dragging friends and family onto the dance floor. Her father told a Coroner, “She was the life and soul. She got everybody up and dancing, which is no mean feat. She was getting everyone involved.”

Her aunt, Jacqueline Nash, also said Rebecca was a “happy, bubbly” person, who was excited to see her sister get married. However, just hours after the wedding reception Rebecca’s partner of four years, Carlo Salamone, found her body hanging at their townhouse in Addlestone, Surrey. The couple had argued about the taxi fare on their way back from the wedding, the inquest heard, and Mr Salamone had slept on the sofa when they had got home.

When he woke up and went upstairs to find his girlfriend, he saw that their bed was still made and had not been slept in. Walking up the second flight of stairs to the third floor, Mr Salamone found his path blocked by a hanging figure. A post-mortem examination showed Rebecca had died as a result of suspension, with a cause of death of hanging. Toxicology tests showed she was double the drink driving limit, with 162mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

Mr Salamone said his partner had been “very happy” on the day of the wedding, on November 8, 2013, and had drunk vodka and coke but not seemed excessively drunk.

Taxi driver Khalik Meah said the couple had been arguing when he gave them a lift back from the party some time after midnight.

Asked whether the couple rowed a lot, Mr Salamone said they would argue when they were drunk, but this was only around once a month and this had been no worse than normal.

“She was my life partner,” the garage owner said. “That evening at the wedding I had spoken to Jo’s husband and arranged the following summer in Dubai (where the newlyweds lived) to ask Rebecca to marry me. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.”

She had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was aged 25 years, the coroner heard, leaving her reliant on insulin to regulate her blood sugar levels.

Rebecca’s cousin Samantha Nash, 24, said she had seen her in a state at about 10pm on the night of the wedding.

Miss Nash said: “She came to me and completely broke down. Alarm bells went off. She was extremely upset. It was about how Carlo wasn’t there for her at home. She kept saying, ‘Don’t tell anyone Carlo’s on drugs, cocaine, don’t tell anyone.”

The coroner heard that Rebecca started working at Visions, a young person’s drug and alcohol service in Hounslow, London, in 2011.

Coroner Richard Travers heard how the social worker had been worrying about organising her sister’s hen do the week before her death.

He said: “The cause of Boo’s death was hanging. There was nothing at the scene to suggest any third party involvement.”

He ruled out a verdict of suicide, as he could not find any clear intention, such as leaving a suicide note and Rebecca had made plans to see friends and family for the coming days.

“Consequently I conclude Rebecca died from self-inflicted injuries but her intention was unclear,” he said.

Rebecca’s family declined to comment after the inquest.

Source: Mirror