Molly Russell inquest: Mother of girl who viewed social media posts on suicide relives moment she found body

Inquest into 14-year-old’s death has begun almost five years after she ended her life

An inquest has begun into the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell (PA)

Molly Russell’s mother has relived the moment she discovered the teenager’s body as her father warned “no-one is immune from such tragedy”.

An inquest into the 14-year-old’s death has begun at North London Coroner’s Court in Barnet almost five years after she ended her life.

Molly, from Harrow, northwest London, is known to have viewed material linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide before her death in November 2017, prompting her family to campaign for better internet safety.

In a statement read out to the court on her behalf, the teenager’s mother, Janet Russell, described what happened on the day she discovered her daughter’s body.

Ms Russell said on the morning of her daughter’s death, she was doing household chores and said goodbye to one of her other daughters who was leaving for school, before she began looking around the house for Molly, but could not find her.

Molly Russell’s father Ian Russell (centre), mother Janet Russell (right) and her sister (left) arrive at Barnet Coroner’s Court on the first day of the inquest into her death (Kirsty O'Connor/PA)

“I knew then something wasn’t right,” she said in her statement. “I saw a load of her clothes on the floor (of her bedroom). For some reason I thought Molly had run away.

“As I looked in her room, I found her ... I had no doubt it was her.”

Ms Russell said she began calling out her daughter’s name when she discovered Molly had died.

In a statement read out on her behalf by Oliver Sanders KC, Ms Russell said: “I screamed and ran out of the room. Ian [Molly’s father] came upstairs and I told him not to go into the room, but he did.

“My other daughter asked what’s happened and I said: ‘It’s Molly, it’s Molly’.”

Ms Russell said Molly’s father began giving her CPR until an ambulance arrived and a paramedic took over.

Mr Russell said it was important for lessons to be learned and necessary action taken “to prevent such a young life being wasted again”.

Molly’s father Ian Russell warned ‘no one is immune to such tragedy’ as he stressed the importance of lessons being learned from his daughter’s death (Kirsty O'Connor/PA)

He told the coroner’s court: “No-one is immune from such tragedy, it is closer to all of us than we would care to think, and breaking the stigma that surrounds mental health, self-harm and suicide is literally vital.”

Senior employees from social media giants Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, and Pinterest are due to give evidence in person during the inquest.

The court previously heard how on Twitter, Molly tweeted or retweeted 460 times, liked 4,100 tweets, was following 116 accounts and had 42 followers.

She was a much more active user of Pinterest, with more than 15,000 engagements, including 3,000 saves, in the last six months of her life.

Molly did not have a Facebook profile. But in the last six months of her life she was engaging with Instagram posts about 130 times a day on average.

This included 3,500 shares during that timeframe, as well as 11,000 likes and 5,000 saves.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

For services local to you, the national mental health database - Hub of Hope - allows you to enter your postcode to search for organisations and charities who offer mental health advice and support in your area.

Additional reporting by Press Association