A TIKTOK star who took her own life after being sent a “suicide kit” told her carer she had bought poison online weeks before, an inquest heard.
Imogen Nunn, known as Deaf Immy on social media, tragically died on New Year’s Day in January 2023.
Imogen Nunn, 25, took her own life after being sent a ‘suicide kit’, an inquest heard[/caption]
The TikTok star, known as Deaf Immy, had told a carer she bought a lethal chemical days before her death[/caption]
The 25-year-old, who brought joy to her 800,000 followers, had bought a “suicide kit” online which contained a poison.
A chef named Kenneth Law, 57, has since been arrested and is facing trial in Canada in relation to a number of deaths.
An inquest held in Horsham, West Sussex, into Imogen’s death today heard how the tragedy was “avoidable” if the young woman had more support.
Imogen was diagnosed as profoundly deaf at 18 months and her mother Louise Sutherland described her as a “rainbow” who had a “special aura”.
But the TikTok star struggled with mental health issues from the age of 14, especially after moving to secondary school.
The hearing was told Imogen had a history of self-harming, suicide attempts and had been sectioned as a teenager after a boy allegedly abused her at school.
She was admitted to St George’s Hospital in London from 2018 to 2021.
Immy was placed in the Bluebell ward, a specialist unit for deaf people, with mental illness.
During this period she was diagnosed with complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and an emotionally unstable personality disorder, depression, and anxiety.
The inquest heard Immy was discharged in September 2021 but still had a mental health support system in place while living at a flat in Brighton with her hearing dog, Whitney.
The 25-year-old’s parents, Louise and Ray Nunn argued she was failed by these mental health services.
They told the inquest their daughter had been missing her scheduled meetings which was a red flag.
She eventually told her carers she had considered suicide and was admitted to a Brighton hospital in February 2022 after an attempt.
In November 2022, Immy contacted her community care nurse to say she had bought a chemical classed as a “reportable substance” in the UK .
Immy said she intended to use it to end her life and had joined a pro-suicide forum.
Sussex Police responded to calls and visited her flat but didn’t arrive with a British Sign Language interpreter.
Officers decided not to take any further action or follow up, the inquest heard.
Immy was admitted to a hospital in Brighton again on December 29 after self-harming.
She spoke to her psychologist the next day and told her she had thought about taking her life by drinking chemicals.
Mum Louise said: “We believe that Immy’s death was avoidable, and that had appropriate actions been taken in response to the numerous times Immy contacted professionals she trusted asking for help, she would still be alive today.
“The reports [that she was missing appointments] should have been a cause for serious alarm that Immy was struggling – a repeated pattern with Immy was of disengaging with professionals when she was particularly unwell or a danger to herself, when she in fact needed an escalation in her care to keep her safe.
“We believe that Immy’s death was avoidable and that there were several missed opportunities to help her and in which it is clear to us that Immy was calling out for help.
“Immy didn’t want to die, but she was exhausted from fighting desperately for the help she needed.”
She added: “Ray and I believe that Immy felt hopeless and let down by the time of her death, and that she was failed.”
The inquest was told Immy embarked on her TikTok venture to share the struggles as a deaf person with mental health issues.
The content creator inspired 800,000 followers on her page.
In an emotional tribute her mum said: “If there was a word for us to describe her it would be ‘rainbow’, there is something so beautiful about the way you feel when you see one, and that was how she would make you feel when she was around.
“She had an aura that was just so special. She was a gentle, kind and genuine young lady.
“Immy spent 11 years fighting a battle, she never gave up fighting the voices in her head, she found strength and determination where others would have fallen, her fight for life was heartbreaking to watch but we knew that Immy had hopes and dreams and a whole future and an amazing life ahead of her.”
The inquest continues.
The 25-year-old had struggled with mental health since the age of 14[/caption]
She tragically died on New Year’s Day in 2023[/caption]
