Nicola Bulley inquest live: Mother-of-two died after falling into River Wyre in freezing temperatures
Nicola Bulley would have found it ‘almost impossible’ to swim against current, experts say
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Nicola Bulley’s family slammed online trolls after a coroner ruled that the mother-of-two died by accident after falling into a river near her home.
A statement issued outside the court on behalf of Ms Bulley’s family urged people “people to look at the facts” and ignore on those spreading baseless theories on the internet.
“We encourage people to look at the facts, the evidence which has been heard during the inquest, and the conclusion reached by the coroner, to ignore any amateur views and opinions, and be mindful of the impact words bring,” the statement said.
Ms Bulley died after accidentally falling into the River Wyre in freezing temperatures, an inquest into her death concluded.
She was walking her springer spaniel Willow when she accidentally fell into the water, with experts stating it would have been “almost impossible to swim against the current”.
Mother who received last text from Nicola gives evidence
Lucie Musella, a fellow mother with children at the same school as Ms Bulley’s daughters, said that she received a text message at 08.59am on January 27 from Ms Bulley on Facebook Messenger.
The two exchanged details about organising a playdate for their children, with Ms Bulley sending a time confirmation with a smiley face emoji just minutes before she was last sighted alive.
The inquest heard that a group of school mothers had also organised a social event for Saturday, January 28, with Ms Bulley “planning on coming for one or two”.
Nicola’s dog was acting ‘giddy’
A woman has described the moment she discovered Nicola Bulley‘s phone and dog Willow.
Penny Fletcher, who runs a nearby campsite, told the inquest: “I saw a springer spaniel loose, it was near the bench and going right towards the river where it drops down very steeply.
“I wouldn’t say it was acting chaotic at all, it was a bit giddy, yes.”
Ms Fletcher found the phone, as well as a dog harness, and tied Willow to the bench.
She later found out it was Ms Bulley‘s dog and heard that she had gone missing.
A retired care home worker, Susan Jones, was called shortly after 10am by Ms Fletcher and informed that a dog was tied to a bench near the river.
In turn, she contacted her husband Roger who was out walking their own dog, to ask him to check and identify its owners.
Mr Jones found Willow and Ms Bulley’s mobile phone, and asked his wife to make the 15-minute journey towards him to help establish who owned the missing possessions.
Once she checked the phone, she told the court that it “lit up” and her husband was able to identify the picture of Paul and his family.
Mother at school said she heard a scream coming from the river
A mother at Ms Bulley’s children’s school has told the court she was in her back garden at 9.35am when she heard a scream coming from the direction of the river.
Helen O’Neill, whose garden backs on to Allotment Lane, said it was “quick, a high to low pitch and over in seconds”. It “was not alarming”, said the nurse, because she is used to hearing the sounds of children playing in the nearby school, although not usually at that time.
She said, “I pictured two female teenagers messing around on the river path, and there were no other sounds, so I didn’t think anything of it until later that night after speaking to Nikki’s dad and sister.”
Ms O’Neill said she last saw Ms Bulley when she was dropping her children off at school the morning of 27 January.
She said she was speaking to two friends in the school car park at just after 8.40am when she spotted Ms Bulley at the boot of her car with her dog Willow talking to somebody at the other side of the car park.
The coroner asked: “There wasn’t anything unusual you were aware of?” She said: “No.”
Another mother from school says nothing ‘unusual’ about Nicola’s behaviour on morning of disappearance
Another mother who saw Ms Bulley in the school car park told the inquest she noticed nothing “unusual” about her behaviour.
“She didn’t look anything, she looked vacant but that wasn’t unusual,” Veronica Claeson said. “No emotions, no sadness or happiness.”
After attending a meeting at the tennis club, Ms Claeson heard a scream while getting into her car.
“I was just about to get in my car and I heard a very short scream and my immediate thought was someone was having a bit of fun at the back of the graveyard. I got in my car and drove off.”
Two women heard a scream near riverside of morning of Bulley’s disappearance, inquest hears
Two women have told the inquest into the death of Nicola Bulley of hearing a scream near the riverside on the morning she vanished.
Nurse Helen O’Neill said she was with her dogs in the garden of her house on Allotment Lane, not far from a path that leads to the bench overlooking the River Wyre where Ms Bulley disappeared.
She told the inquest: “I heard a scream, it’s not an alarming noise, it was just over in a couple of seconds. I’m quite used to hearing the children in the school out back, but it was not that noise.
“I vividly remember thinking it’s unusual at this time. In my head, I had two females, walking along by the river and one jumped out on the other. I didn’t think anything of it until later on. There were no other sounds for me to be concerned about.”
A second witness, Veronica Claesen, a housewife and club secretary for the village tennis club, said: “I was just about to get into the car and I heard a scream. A very short scream and my immediate thought was, ‘Somebody is having a bit of fun at the back of the graveyard’.”
Ms Claesen said it was an “inhale scream” like a sharp intake of breath.
Nicola Bulley’s Fitbit and car keys discovered along with her body, senior officer says
Nicola Bulley's Fitbit watch and car keys were recovered along with her body, a senior police officer who investigated her disappearance said.
Asked what was found with her body on 19 February, Lancashire Police Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith told the inquest: “Her Fitbit watch and her set of Mercedes car keys.”
Police give timeline of Nicola Bulley’s final movements
Rebecca Smith, Detective Superintendent of Lancashire Constabulary has given the court a detailed timeline of Ms Bulley’s final movements, reports my colleague Tara Cobham.
Ms Bulley left her home at 8.26am on 27 January and travelled the eight-minute journey to St Michaels on Wyre school.
Shortly after, Ms Bulley walks towards the river path and stops to play in a field by the river with her dog Willow at around 8.46am. She sends and receives a number of messages, including an email to her boss at Exclusive Mortgages, a WhatsApp message from her sister regarding a spa day, and a Facebook message to Lucie Musella arranging a playdate.
Claire Chesham is estimated to have had her final sighting of Ms Bulley at 9.10am.
Ms Bulley last interacted with her phone eight minutes later. Ms Bulley received another WhatsApp message about the spa day from her sister, Louise Cunningham, within the same minute of that last interaction.
Ms Bulley’s phone was shown to be in the area of the bench, where it was later found along with her dog, at 9.20am. Police believe it remains in the same place until it is moved at 10.33am by those trying to find out who the phone belongs to, including Susan and Roger Jones.
Ms Bulley’s husband Paul Ansell has made numerous unanswered calls to Ms Bulley during this time, including a message reading: “Have you got lost?”
Mr Ansell received a call from the school telling him about Willow and Ms Bulley's phone at 10.54am. A couple of minutes later he left the house and called Anne-Marie – the person who had recognised a photograph of Ms Bulley and her family on the phone lock screen – before calling 999 and reporting Ms Bulley as missing. He arrived in the area of the river at around 11.10am.
Police offer explanation for heart rate data recorded sporadically on FitBit
Holly Evans reports:
As part of their investigation DC Greenhalgh, who works for the digital media investigation unit, retraced Ms Bulley’s suspected route with an iPhone to compare the data found on GPS satellites.
Her phone was recovered intact from the bench and there was no sign that it had entered the water.
Her FitBit was recovered from her body in the water, with Lancashire Constabulary later gaining access by using her email address. It is believed that the Fitbit had lost power on February 4 and that no further steps had been recorded beyond 9.30am on January 27.
The inquest heard that a possible explanation for heart rate data being recorded sporadically in the days after her disappearance was the movement of water passing between the FitBit and Ms Bulley’s wrist. Subsequent testing on inanimate objects has provided similar results when there was movement in the water.
Nicola Bulley inquest adjourns
The inquest has now adjourned for the day and will resume at 10am tomorrow morning, where we are expected to hear from Ms Bulley's GP, her sister Louise Cunningham and her husband Paul Ansell.
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