Divorced mother unhappy with her weight tattooed do not resuscitate on her chest, commits suicide

A divorced mother tattooed "Do Not Resuscitate" on her chest before she suffocated herself , a coroner heard on Wednesday
Rebecca Leaper, who was unhappy with her weight, was found dead on a bed in her home by her ex-husband, Richard Mason, after she texted him claiming she was "feeling unwell."
Mason, who had known Ms Leaper for 24 years prior to her death, had taken their daughter Saskia out for a meal before receiving the troubling texts.

In a statement read to the court, coroner Jeremy Chipperfield heard that the 54-year-old mum sent a text to Mr Mason as he began his meal at a nearby restaurant.

It read: "Please come home with Saskia after your meal. "There is no rush but I am feeling a bit poorly."

But the coroner heard that when they both got to Ms Leaper's house in Oxford shortly after their meal, they found a note taped to the door.

The letter, written by Ms Leaper herself, said: "I should be dead."Please do not let Saskia in."

Mr Mason ran inside to find his ex-wife face down on a single bed at the back of the house.
Mr Mason said: "She had given me no indication that she wanted to end her own life but I was aware she was unhappy about her weight and her current unemployment."
The coroner also heard that in March this year Ms Leaper had contacted her GP asking him to refer her for surgery to reduce her weight.

He agreed that he would do this for her and maintained she seemed "cheerful, positive and looking forward to having the surgery."
They said they were surprised she took her own life.

It was revealed at the inquest that Ms Leaper had a long history of anxiety and depression.
Her mental health problems were particularly aggravated by her concern that she was overweight.

The inquest also heard that Ms Leaper's tragic death was made all the more strange when a paramedic at the scene noticed a tattoo on her upper chest stating, "Do Not Resuscitate"

However, it was not made clear in the inquest how or when this tattoo had been inked onto her skin.
A post-mortem examination found her lungs were congested and there were a number of haemorrhages to her scalp.
Consultant pathologist Professor Ian Roberts recorded the cause of death as suffocation.
Coroner Mr Chipperfield recorded a verdict of suicide.

He said: "The verdict I will record is suicide, and it would seem that at some point she prepared various notes before she did this.

"All of that would have taken some time - this suggests preparation. It was quite an elaborate procedure.

"I have no doubt that she asked Mr Mason and her daughter to come back to the house so that they would inadvertently find her.

"She said there was no hurry, but her death would have followed quite quickly.

"I can conclude that she did not expect to be found alive. The notes were unambiguous.

"My conclusion is that it was her intention to commit suicide, and that is my finding."

UK Mirror