The death of a 14-year-old girl who took her own life at home has left her family struggling “beyond words” to come to terms with the tragedy.
Charley Pointon, from Bucknall in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was found at her family home on February 9.
An inquest into her death, which recorded a verdict of suicide, found she had gone to school as normal that day and shared “unconcerning” messages with her mother while visiting a friend’s house that night before returning home.
In a statement issued after the coroner’s ruling, Charley’s parents, Lisa and Steve Pointon, said their daughter had a “fun personality with a smile that lit up a room” and they would “never accept” the loss.
The inquest found Charley was found at 10.30pm, two and a half hours after she had returned from a friend’s house without worries.
Charley Pointon was found dead at his home in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, in February this year.
The teen’s parents say they will “never accept” the loss of their beloved daughter.
She was rushed to Royal Stoke University Hospital, where she was tragically pronounced dead.
She left a note, the hearing said, “declaring her intention to no longer be alive.”
Mr and Mrs Pointon said in their statement, recorded by Stoke-on-Trent live: ‘Charley had a fun personality with a smile that would light up a room.
‘She loved her family and friends deeply and had a passion for fashion and holidays, her favorite place being New York, which we visited four times.
‘Charley’s death, as a family, is beyond words as we struggle to get through the days without her. As a family, we will never accept our loss and the pain we endure every day.’
Teachers at her school, The Discovery Academy in Stoke-on-Trent, said Charley, a Year Nine pupil, would be remembered for her “kindness and beautiful nature”.
The school offered additional support to the pupils at the time of his death.
Assistant Principal Becky Luby said in February: “Charley navigated high school the same way she tackled anything new, with determination and a smile.
‘His personality shone through the first week, helping others who found secondary school a little daunting, with kindness and compassion.
‘Charley was a popular girl, always willing to help others and had a large circle of friends, not only within her peer group but throughout the school.
“She always made us laugh with her quick wit and was affectionately known as our ‘little firecracker,’ not because she was impulsive but because she always stood up for the things she believed in.
‘It is said that the school leaves an imprint on the students. Charley will leave a lasting impression on us by the smiles he put on our faces.
“Charley will always be remembered for her kindness, her beautiful nature and the smiles she put on our faces.”
Charley had been a pupil at Discovery Academy in Stoke-on-Trent, who remembered her as a “little firecracker”.
A photo released through Discovery Academy of Charley Pointon making a statement remembering her earlier this year.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said it had been called to an address in Bucknall at 10.34pm on February 9 and had taken a female patient to hospital after treating her at the scene.
A spokesperson told MailOnline shortly after her death: “Unfortunately, shortly after arriving at hospital it became clear that nothing could be done to save the patient and she was confirmed dead.”
The teenager was buried at the Lawn Cemetery in Carmountside Chapel on March 5 during a service in which white balloons were released next to her grave in her memory.
North Staffordshire assistant coroner Duncan Ritchie, concluding the inquest, said: “Charley Pointon was a schoolgirl who lived with her loving family and had a normal and happy life.
‘My brief conclusion is suicide. Having considered the evidence, I conclude that Charley did this deliberate act to end his life and at the time that was his aim as a result of his actions.’
