The heartbroken parents of a Harrogate schoolgirl who was on an acne drug when she took her life paid tribute to her at an inquest today.

Annabel Wright, 15, was found dead in her room on the evening of May 1, 2019. Her parents discovered her body.

Harrogate District Hospital had prescribed the schoolgirl, who attended St Aidan’s Church of England High School in Harrogate, the drug Roaccutane, also known as isotretinoin, to treat her acne.

Giving evidence at an inquest in Northallerton today, Helen and Simon Wright said Annabel was a happy child with no history of depression.

Ms Wright said:

“Annabel was the brightest child. She was easy going, happy and she never had any issues. She enjoyed school and had a great set of friends there.

“I believe that Roaccutane led to her suicide. Normal, happy people like Annabel don’t just commit suicide without any signs or anything leading up to it.”

Concerns about drug’s link to suicide

The inquest heard that in January 2019 Annabel had self-harmed. Mr and Ms Wright discussed the incident with their daughter but did not mention it to the doctor, as they did not think it was linked to her medication.

When Annabel was first prescribed Roaccutane in October 2018, Ms Wright raised concerns about the drug after reading articles online linking it with suicide.

The doctor told Ms Wright she believed there was no causal link between the drug and increased risk of suicide.

Mr Wright said of his daughter:

“She was perfect. We adored Annabel and she adored us, we were a close-knit family.

“My wife and mother-in-law had taken our son out to a young farmers’ club on the day that Annabel died.

“I came home from work late at around 8pm and went to see Annabel in her room when we had a chat about the Spanish exam she took that morning.”

Mr Wright later went downstairs for dinner. When the rest of his family got back they went to check once again on Annabel.

Mr Wright found his daughter’s body and called for an ambulance, which took Annabel to hospital in Harrogate where she later died.

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Parents say risk should have been made clearer

Mr and Ms Wright both said they believed Roaccutane was the cause of Annabel’s suicide and blamed the hospital for not making the risks clearer.

The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust to respond to the Wrights’ claims.

Dr Jacqueline Andrews, executive medical director at the trust, said:

“We wish to offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Annabel Wright.

“Following Annabel’s tragic death, the trust commenced an investigation and our findings have been shared with Annabel’s family and HM Coroner.

“Until the inquest has concluded we are unable to comment further.”

The inquest into Annabel Wright’s death continues.

Samaritans are available 365 days a year for people in need of support. You can call them free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.

The family of a woman who died at the DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel in what police believe to be a murder-suicide has released an emotional tribute.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed yesterday that Chenise Gregory and Michael McGibbon, who were both 29 and from London, were found dead with stab wounds on Tuesday at 10.20pm.

Police are treating the death of Ms Gregory as murder.

Devante Gravesande-Smith, a young barrister from London, has described his cousin Ms Gregory as a “loving and caring person, whose smile would light up a room.” He tweeted:

“Chenise worked as a Child Care Specialist. Throughout her life she touched the hearts of those she worked with as well as her family and close friends.

“As a family we are deeply saddened to learn about the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Chenise’s tragic murder.

“We’re heartbroken to learn that our beloved Chenise was lured to her death at the hands of her controlling and manipulative ex-boyfriend.”

Enquiries into the circumstances around the deaths are ongoing but detectives are treating the death of Ms Gregory as murder. They do not believe anyone else is involved.

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Temporary detective chief inspector Jonathan Sygrove of North Yorkshire Police’s major investigation team said:

“An investigation into the circumstances around the deaths is ongoing, but the evidence we have gathered at this stage suggests it as a suspected murder-suicide.

“A post-mortem has taken place that has confirmed the couple died from stab wounds. We are treating Ms Gregory’s death as murder and we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

“This is a very sad case and our thoughts are with their families and friends and this difficult time. We have specialist officers from North Yorkshire Police, supported by specialist officers from the Metropolitan Police supporting the family, and we will work with them as we investigate the circumstances leading to these tragic deaths.”

A Harrogate man, who set up a charity to honour his son who took his life, held an event today to encourage businesses to improve workplace wellbeing.

Steve Phillip founded The Jordan Legacy to improve people’s wellbeing and the support available to them.

Mr Phillip and other family members hope the charity will provide support for people in their darkest times.

Jordan was 34 when he took his life in December 2019. Since then, his family, friends and partner have been determined to remember him and “live by his values”.

Mr Phillip described his son as “very considerate, a lot of fun and always the first there if you had a problem”. He said he knew he wanted to do more to help others.

Jordan Phillip

Today, the charity held an event to promote the #HopeForLifeUK Day it plans to hold on December 4 this year.

That date will be the second anniversary of Jordan’s death and the aim is to bring people together to discuss suicide prevention.

The charity works with businesses to encourage workplace wellbeing and mental health training and to ensure they have people and facilities in place to support staff.

It also works to bring community organisations together to discuss suicide openly and plan how it can be prevented.

Those attending today’s online event were asked to make a contribution; this may be to read a book on mental health, train as a mental health first-aider or fundraise for the charity. Whatever it is, the charity asks it be promoted using the #HopeForLifeUK Day. Mr Phillip said:

“Today is all about getting businesses, people and organisations involved to discuss suicide prevention and to put practical action in place to help people with their mental health.”

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Mr Phillip began working for the charity full-time eight weeks ago after previously being employed as a social media and LinkedIn consultant. He was also the vice president of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce until 2016.

Mr Phillip said lockdown is having a huge impact on people’s wellbeing and he hopes to continue promoting the charity and the work it does to ensure people feel supported.

The charity’s website also has a number of resources available for people.