Devastated mother found Army cadet daughter, 13, hanging in her bedroom after returning home with a McDonald's takeaway for her, inquest hears
A devastated mother who came home with a McDonald's takeaway for her teenage daughter but found her hanging told a coroner it had been a 'cry for help'.
Army cadet Chantelle Jones, 13, was found hanged inside her bedroom at her family home in Wrexham, north Wales on October 1, 2020.
Paramedics and the air ambulance rushed to the scene, but despite frantic efforts to save her Chantelle was pronounced dead at 6.35pm.
Her mother, Alison Jones, had jokingly shouted up 'waitress service' as she entered her daughter's bedroom and made the awful discovery.
Speaking at a Ruthin inquest into Chantelle's death, Alison said: 'I know I will never get the answers I want as to why I lost the most precious thing in my life.
'She was just a teenager getting on with her life and doing what all teenagers do.'
The distraught mother told the coroner: 'I just don't think she meant to do it. I think it was a cry for help and she thought we would be there.'
Army Cadet Chantelle Jones, 13, was discovered hanged at her home in Wrexham, north Wales at around 6pm on October 1, 2020
Tributes have poured in for the teenager since her death on October 1, with hundreds also attending a balloon memorial to the Army Cadet
John Gittins, senior coroner for North Wales East and Central, recorded a conclusion of misadventure.
He noted that he had dealt with two inquests on the same day involving two children who died from hanging and involving misadventure.
Mr Gittins said: 'We have a deliberate act with unforeseen consequences arising from it.
'I just wish I knew what she had in her mind so you could have proper closure. It doesn't seem enough to offer my condolences.'
He said: 'Everyone involved in this did all they possibly could. It's very, very sad.'
Chantelle had been referred to a mental health service after self-harming but the contact was only for a week.
Alex Jones, her father, also thought what happened last October was a cry for help.
Mr Gittins told the parents: 'She had a lot going for her, a family who loved her, and had all the support in the world from you in relation to that.'
He believed the self-harming in 2019 seemed to be 'isolated' and had not been repeated.
'There's not sufficient evidence to reach a conclusion of suicide,' Mr Gittins declared. 'My belief is it wasn't intended to end her life.'
Tributes had poured in for the teenager since her death, with hundreds also attending a balloon memorial to the Army Cadet.
In a statement, her school said: 'Chantelle had such a lovely way of showing she cared, and this was evident to all, but especially those in her close friendship group.
'She had both spirit and character, and we all recognised her wonderful potential. No family or community should ever have to experience a loss of this kind.
'School does not feel right without Chantelle. We will all miss her.'
Pictured: Tributes to Chantelle Jones outside Castell Alun High School in Wrexham, north Wales
In a statement released alongside acting head Paul Edwards, the family said: 'Chantelle loved school and was excited at the thought of attending daily.
'She would have wanted to say goodbye to her many friends at Castell Alun but was cruelly deprived of this opportunity, and so her final journey will see her enter the school grounds whereupon she will be clapped and cheered by her peers.'
Chantelle was a part of the Brynteg branch of the Clwyd and Gwynedd Army Cadet Force in Wrexham.