A heartbroken mother took her own life just four weeks after her teenage son hanged himself after breaking up with his girlfriend, an inquest heard.
Harriet Belmore, 36, was left devastated after her son Charlie Belmore-Hawkes, 17, was found dead in woodland near their home on October 2 last year.
She repeatedly refused mental health treatment, despite overdosing on medication and alcohol five days after the death of her only child.
The laser aesthetic technician who had spoken of “wanting to be with her son” was found hanged on October 31 at her home in Taverham, near Norwich, Norfolk.
The tragic story of their deaths emerged at separate inquests held just minutes apart at Norfolk Coroner’s Court in Norwich.
Heartbroken mother Harriet Belmore (pictured), 36, took her own life just four weeks after her teenage son hanged himself after breaking up with his girlfriend, an inquest heard.
His son Charlie Belmore-Hawkes (pictured), 17, was found dead in woodland near his home on October 2 last year.
The inquest into Charlie’s death found that he had been involved in an argument with his girlfriend of three years just days before his death.
Detective Sergeant Matthew Hendry of Norfolk Police said the row broke out after he attended a music festival with an ex-girlfriend.
He and his girlfriend argued and she ended up telling him she wanted to take a break, he said.
Charlie, who had recently started work as an apprentice bricklayer, was found hanging just days later in a wooded area of ​​Eastfields in Taverham.
Miss Belmore, who had separated from the father of her child, told police afterwards that she had never seen Charlie more depressed than he was after the argument.
Detective Sergeant Hendry said in a report into Charlie’s investigation: “Both sides of his family were loving, responsible people who clearly loved him very much.
“He was clearly struggling a lot with this issue and his father and mother had never seen him so low before.”
Norfolk’s senior coroner, Jacqueline Lake, recorded a narrative conclusion, saying Charlie had “taken his own life but the evidence does not reveal his intentions at the time”.
A separate hearing was told that Miss Belmore had been admitted by accident and emergency to the University Hospital of Norfolk and Norwich on October 7 last year after an overdose of medication and alcohol.
Hospital staff initially recommended that she undergo a mental health assessment, but this was not carried out after she told a member of the mental health liaison team that she wanted to be discharged.
Miss Belmore was then referred to the crisis team at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.
Team staff visited her at her mother’s home on October 11, but she again made it clear that she did not wish to receive any support, the investigation heard.
Two days later she was discharged from crisis services.
Mrs Belmore (pictured), a laser aesthetics technician, who had spoken of “wanting to be with her son”, was found hanged on October 31 at her home in Taverham, near Norwich, Norfolk.
NSFT crisis nurse Melissa Moss said in a statement read to the court that Miss Belmore had told the team she was “fine” and found the offers of support “condescending”.
Moss said he then spoke to Miss Belmore’s mother Frances and provided her with contact details for the team and other support services available.
But Miss Belmore was found unconscious at her home on October 31 and pronounced dead at the scene, despite receiving CPR.
Mrs. Lake concluded that Miss Belmore had committed suicide.
The coroner said: “She discharged herself from hospital on October 7 and subsequently did not contact mental health services or her GP.”
“She continued to ask how she would cope without her son and talked about wanting to be with him again.”
The inquest found Miss Belmore got on well with the father of her child, despite their separation.
Inquests found that the medical cause of death of Miss Belmore and her son was hanging.
Miss Belmore’s lawyer father, Michael Belmore, also died in tragic circumstances in 2007, when he drowned at the age of 53 while on holiday in Crete. He had founded Belmores Solicitors in Norwich in 1981.