Suicide site encouraged daughter to die - parents

The parents of a student nurse who took her own life have called for suicide websites to be shut down to save other young lives.

Bronwen Morgan, 26, died after she was found unresponsive in a hotel room in Pentwyn, Cardiff, in August 2020.

Her parents said she was "encouraged" and "guided" by a suicide website, which has recently been blocked.

The coroner at her inquest has asked the UK and Welsh governments to make it harder to access such websites.

Bronwen's mother Jayne and father Haydn, from Cardiff, said they felt "shock, horror, anger" when they discovered what people had been messaging their eldest daughter.

"Just reading the dialogue that she had with people on that website was just so alarming, to see that there were people who were actually encouraging vulnerable people to take their lives, offering techniques," said Mrs Morgan.

Bronwen had been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder in 2019.

The Cardiff University nursing student made multiple attempts to take her own life, so many that it "became the norm" for her family.

"Over a two-year period, probably about 30, 40 [attempts]," said Mrs Morgan. "We felt absolutely helpless.

"We were living in a crazy world, it was a nightmare really. You almost, wrongly, normalise it because it's just how you deal with it.

"We didn't know what we could do to help her. There wasn't any support for us at all. We were at breaking point."

Mr Morgan, a retired police officer, added: "The attempts were becoming more serious.

"We knew that it was more than a cry for help. These were serious attempts to take her life."

The family said they and Bronwen had "lost all hope" and did not know where to turn for help.

On the night Bronwen took her own life, the family were prepared "for a long stint in A&E", as they had been so many times before.

But this time was different. Sadly, doctors could not resuscitate her.

Her devastated family were unaware about the websites Bronwen had been visiting until after her death.

"We came across some communication on her computer, on her laptop. We were able to sort of track back and read all the forums that she'd been in," said Mrs Morgan.

"It was absolutely shocking.

"It was actively encouraging others to take their lives and giving them the methods and ideas on how to do it. I didn't think these sites existed. But obviously they do and they're still out there now.

"Somebody that's so vulnerable," Mrs Morgan added.

"After we lost Bronwen, after she'd taken her life, there was a message that had come through on her chat, 'Are you there? Did you do it?'.

"They're almost provoking them to take the next step."

The family are convinced that without the information Bronwen received from the website "she would still be with us now".

"Just reading the dialogue that she had with people on that website was just so alarming, to see that there were people who were actually encouraging vulnerable people to take their lives, offering techniques," said Mrs Morgan.

"It's horrific to think these places are out there and available to anybody. It's scary.

"She would never have known how to do it without going onto that website and being guided," said Mr Morgan.

"It was a fine-tuned operation what Bronwen did when she took her life. She knew exactly what to do.

"It's too easy for children to go on these sites at any age.

"We just want them to take this seriously and actually do something proactive to prevent this. It's not just another statistic."

At the inquest into Bronwen's death, South Wales Central coroner Graeme Hughes warned that more people may die after using forums discussing suicide methods.

He submitted a prevention of future deaths report to the UK and Welsh governments.

Bronwen's parents are now campaigning for more sites to be shut down and to improve the mental health of young people, through their charity Bronwen's Wish.

"If we could wave a magic wand, all these sites would be shut down," said Mr Morgan.

"We do a lot of work to try to make some positive changes within the mental health field," added Mrs Morgan.

But the agony of losing their daughter remains.

"We miss her every moment of every day," said Mrs Morgan.

"It's heart-breaking," added Mr Morgan. "I still feel like I'm in a bad dream.

"You just never ever imagine that your child would take her life."

Additional reporting by Matt Murray

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