A teenager who took her own life would still be alive if her cries for help had been taken seriously, her mother has said. Ella Louise Murray, 13, died after being found hanging in her bedroom on November 15, 2023, just days after telling her teachers she 'wanted to kill herself'.
Mother's Desperate Attempts to Save Her Daughter
Her mother, Natalie James, called an ambulance and began CPR. Paramedics rushed to their home in Sheerness, Kent, and carried out resuscitation attempts before the schoolgirl was airlifted to King's College Hospital in London, where she arrived 'deeply unconscious'. Ella was admitted to critical care but tragically died shortly after 2pm.
The Year 9 pupil had a history of self-harm and had taken overdoses on two separate occasions. She had previously reported being sexually assaulted, according to a coroner's prevention of future deaths report.
Cries for Help Ignored
Only two days before her suicide, on November 13, Ella told a teacher that 'she wanted to kill herself'. She was taken to A&E, where she told a paediatric nurse she would end her life if she went home. The teenager denied intent to end her own life but said she had a low mood and reported 'ongoing self-harm and suicidal ideation'.
She was then referred to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and seen by a nurse who deemed her a 'medium risk'. Ella was discharged with an agreed home treatment plan and seen by another mental health nurse the following day at her home.
However, the report states: 'That evening (when Ella was discharged) she argued with her parents and ran away from home barefoot, and a stranger called the police on her behalf. She told police she was frightened of her stepfather and was worried about returning home. Whilst on the call to police, her Mum arrived and took her home, giving the call handler their address as she left. The police followed up the next morning.'
Missed Opportunities
Ella was kept off school the next day, and a member of the mental health home treatment team visited in the afternoon. 'Her documentation shows that she was aware that Ella had run away from home and that she said she would harm herself or others in order to go to prison and was documented as being suicidal and was hearing derogatory voices.'
The nurse contacted the safeguarding team at 4pm after she had seen Ella and referred the teenager to social services. Ella's mother had been on the phone after the nurse visited and 'went up to Ella's room, where she found her hanging'. She died the following day at King's College Hospital in London.
Coroner's Findings
During an inquest into Ella's death in 2024, area coroner Catherine Wood said she found it 'incredible' that a 13-year-old could tell a nurse she was going to harm herself and a risk assessment not be completed. 'I simply cannot accept it is reasonable to leave her at home even with a plan to see her the following day,' she said. 'There was a clear failure here to keep Ella safe. This was a child crying out for help, and I find she should have been risk-assessed. Had she been, she would have been high risk.'
She declared that Ella should have been taken to a mental health ward and admitted to the hospital, or an urgent discussion should have been held with partner organisations to ensure Ella was in a safe place.
Mother's Heartbreak
Two years on from the inquest, Ella's mother still cannot understand how her daughter was seen by three different professionals but not admitted to hospital. Ms James said: 'Losing a child is something I will never get over. There are so many questions I will never have the answer to, so many "what ifs", and I cannot ask Ella. I look back and think she could still be here. If she felt like someone was helping her, maybe she would not have given up hope.'
'One of the hardest things I hear is "she would have done it anyway". We do not know that. What we do know is that if she were risk-assessed, she would have been rated as high risk, and she might not have done it then.'
Ms James, who now lives in Sittingbourne, said: 'If they have gone to the hospital, they should not be leaving without having an assessment, and they should not have to jump through so many hoops and red tape for it. Anyone expressing a desire to harm themselves at a young age should be taken more seriously.'
Ms James, who has completed several training courses in mental health and suicide awareness, acknowledged that not every person who says they intend to harm themselves will do so, but said these comments should always be taken seriously. 'It is not worth the risk. They are big words for a small person, and are warning signs that should not be ignored. A 13-year-old should not know how to end their life, and it should not be a consideration.'
Petition for Mandatory Risk Assessments
Ella's friend Daisy Sunley has now launched a Government petition calling for mandatory suicide risk assessments when a child in hospital care expresses intent to harm themselves. Daisy has not only lost Ella to suicide but another friend, Elvie. She said: 'Losing one friend so young was heartbreaking, but losing two was something I struggled to understand at that age, especially to suicide.'
'As I have got older and learned more about Ella's case, I began researching what a suicide risk assessment was and why it mattered. Now, as an almost 18-year-old, I cannot understand how something that could determine whether a vulnerable young person receives life-saving support can still be treated as optional.'
'What affected me most was learning the details of Ella's case. She had told professionals she wanted to end her life, she was hearing voices, and she was clearly crying out for help, yet a suicide risk assessment was not completed. I do not want any other child, friend, or family to go through what so many people around Ella and Elvie had to go through.'
Official Response
Following Ella's death, a prevention of future deaths report was submitted to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the chief executive of NHS England, and the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB). In it, she outlined her concerns surrounding Ella's death, including that if the teenager had been removed from her home, she 'may still be alive today'. The organisations said in response that multiple meetings and reviews had taken place, and steps were being taken to strengthen information sharing between agencies and escalation plans for professionals.
