Tragic 25-year-old was found hanged after breaking up with her boyfriend and struggling with lockdown isolation
- Katy Goodwin, 25, from Sheffield, was found dead at friend’s house in December
- Sheffield Coroner’s Court heard she had broken up with long-term boyfriend
- Heard she was living alone for first time and struggled to cope with lockdowns
- Told she sought help for mental health issues in the weeks before her death
- Assistant coroner Katy Dickinson concluded death was result of misadventure
A tragic 25-year-old woman was found hanged after breaking up with her boyfriend and struggling to cope with the isolation of lockdown, an inquest has heard.
Katy Goodwin, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, was found dead at a friend’s house on December 6 last year, only weeks after seeking professional help for mental health difficulties.
Sheffield Coroner’s Court heard the university graduate had recently broken up with her long-term boyfriend and that this likely contributed to her affected mental state.
It was also heard how Ms Goodwin was living alone for the first time in her life and that, as a result, she struggled to cope with last year’s lockdowns.
The inquest was told Ms Goodwin sought help for mental health issues in the weeks before her death and she was prescribed antidepressants but struggled with them.
Katy Goodwin, 25, from Sheffield, was found dead at a friend’s house on December 6 last year, after breaking up with her boyfriend, struggling to cope with the isolation of lockdown and only weeks after seeking professional help for mental health difficulties
She had also attended A&E for her mood in late November, had called the crisis team for further help and was due to attend another mental health appointment at the time she died.
A psychiatrist determined she had been suffering from mixed anxiety and depressive disorder.
The court heard Ms Goodwin was found dead at her friend’s house in Sheffield on December 6, 2020, and that her cause of death was determined as hanging.
Ms Goodwin’s parents, who were both present in court, said her independence meant she hid things from them and as a result they had no idea her problems had got so bad.
Her father Steven said: ‘We were proud as anything of her. She was the perfect daughter.
‘She had so many good friends who are all devastated. It is just a tragic loss for us.’
Assistant coroner Katy Dickinson decided not to record a conclusion of suicide due to the particular circumstances of Ms Goodwin’s death
Her mother Joanne added: ‘You would never have thought she would have done this. She had everything to live for.
‘I just wish someone could have told us. She didn’t want to die.’
Assistant coroner Katy Dickinson decided not to record a conclusion of suicide due to the particular circumstances of Ms Goodwin’s death.
She said the lack of a note, the fact Ms Goodwin had sought help on numerous previous occasions and was with someone at the time she died meant that verdict was not possible.
These factors led her to believe her actions may have been an ‘expression of distress’ rather than something done with the intention of ending her life, she added.
Ms Dickinson concluded Ms Goodwin died as a result of misadventure.