>Paramedic took own life during lockdown after Facebook users piled on to shame her for littering
>Charlotte Cope’s mother tells inquest: ‘I believe she would be here today if it wasn’t for that post’
>A “well-loved” young paramedic took her own life during the Covid-19 lockdown after being shamed on Facebook for littering, an inquest has heard.
>Charlotte Cope, from Gelli, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, was found dead at her family home in April 2020.
>The 23-year-old member of the Welsh Ambulance Service was said to have suffered from an eating disorder and anxiety, but her mother insisted her daughter had “everything to live for”.
>The day before her death, photos of Miss Cope in her uniform were uploaded to social media by a member of the public who claimed she had seen her littering outside her home.
>Miss Cope had been on her way to work a night shift when she stopped and was pictured standing outside her car next to a pile of food waste and packaged food items.
>She was told about the post targeting her by her line manager at Gelli Ambulance Station. She admitted wrongdoing and said she would pay whatever fine was issued.
>Post shared hundreds of times
>However, by the time she woke the next day, the post had been shared hundreds of times, according to her family.
>“That is what pushed her over the edge,” Ms Cope’s mother, Heidi Cope, said following a hearing at South Wales Central Coroner’s Court.
>The inquest was told that Miss Cope was a happy child who was enthusiastic about sports, becoming Welsh judo champion three times. But at the age of 15 she developed anorexia and spent several weeks in hospital undergoing treatment for the disorder.
>She went on to study health and social care in college and attended Plymouth University to train to be a paramedic, joining the Welsh Ambulance Service in 2018 after graduating.
>She was said to have been a well-liked member of the team who “loved her job” and enjoyed helping and saving people.
>Despite this, she continued to suffer with her mental health at times and family members said they believed she had never recovered from her eating disorder and was a “troubled soul”.
>On April 13, the day of her death, Miss Cope had spent some time downstairs with her parents before returning to her bedroom at around 1.30pm, and was said to have appeared “normal”.
>She was found dead by her mother at around 8.30pm.
>Colleagues and friends answered mother’s 999 call
>Paramedics who attended Mrs Cope’s 999 call were colleagues and friends of Miss Cope and in statements read out at the hearing said how “shocked” they were, and described her as “popular and well-loved”.
>A message found on Miss Cope’s body directed family members to look at the notes she had written on her phone.
>Those notes said she wanted the “horrendous” and “disturbing” thoughts in her head to stop, repeatedly said she was sorry, and thanked her colleagues for all the memories they shared.
>Assistant coroner Rachel Knight said: “Charlotte had a complex history including a longstanding eating disorder, depression and anxiety, and was further upset by a post on social media that likely caused her to be embarrassed.”
>‘She would be here today if it wasn’t for that post’
>Following the hearing, Mrs Cope said she believed the Facebook post had contributed to her daughter’s death.
>“I believe she would be here today if it wasn’t for that post,” she said.
>“She loved her family, her job, and the gym. She’d recently bought a car, booked to go on holiday with her friends, and got concert tickets to see Pink live.
>“She had everything to live for.”
>She added: “Charlotte did have anxiety and was obviously still struggling with her eating disorder and we supported her with that – we even built her a gym in the garage so she could continue to work out during lockdown. But I think the post pushed her over the edge.
>“That day she woke up to find the post had been shared hundreds of times and the messages being written about her were vile and she was too embarrassed.
>“I just want people to realise what a dangerous and nasty place Facebook can be, and what they post can have an impact on someone and their family.”
RIP young woman.
Social media is toxic, delete it.
Utterly heartbreaking.
One of the reasons I’m not on FB anymore is the mob mentality around viral pictures/videos like this. Makes me forget we don’t actually live in 1690s Salem, where assumptions become consensus amongst a baying crowd.
I wonder how many people who shared the original post will now share this tragic story on their FB, with messages like “be kind” or some other vacuous bullshit to farm likes or approval.
Social Media isn’t nasty by itself – its takes cunts with keyboards to make it that way.
RIP Charlotte.
Even the police in Facebook take part in this sort of pillorying for wrong doing. Just hope you don’t end up on the wrong side of the mob.
It’s obviously sad to hear but:
a) why are you killing yourself over something as trivial as this? just ignore people’s views and get on with your life. I guess it was the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak, but still it’s just people’s opinions. Ignore them. I am unvaccinated and despite people throwing vitriol at me for it, I remain unvaccinated and will never get the vaccine unless it becomes law.
b) her mother said she had “lots to live for” yet she had an eating disorder, anxiety and clear mental health problems. I mean, you can’t exactly have lots to live for if all those mental issues are stopping you from living a good life. That’s why I find it weird when they say these people have lots to live for. From where I’m standing, no one with significant mental health issues has much to live for. And I speak as someone who has known people with mental health issues – their life looks awful and hardly something where they have lots to live for.
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[Archive (non paywall) link](https://web.archive.org/web/20211222100202/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/12/21/well-loved-paramedic-took-life-lockdown-shamed-facebook-littering/)
>Paramedic took own life during lockdown after Facebook users piled on to shame her for littering
>Charlotte Cope’s mother tells inquest: ‘I believe she would be here today if it wasn’t for that post’
>A “well-loved” young paramedic took her own life during the Covid-19 lockdown after being shamed on Facebook for littering, an inquest has heard.
>Charlotte Cope, from Gelli, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, was found dead at her family home in April 2020.
>The 23-year-old member of the Welsh Ambulance Service was said to have suffered from an eating disorder and anxiety, but her mother insisted her daughter had “everything to live for”.
>The day before her death, photos of Miss Cope in her uniform were uploaded to social media by a member of the public who claimed she had seen her littering outside her home.
>Miss Cope had been on her way to work a night shift when she stopped and was pictured standing outside her car next to a pile of food waste and packaged food items.
>She was told about the post targeting her by her line manager at Gelli Ambulance Station. She admitted wrongdoing and said she would pay whatever fine was issued.
>Post shared hundreds of times
>However, by the time she woke the next day, the post had been shared hundreds of times, according to her family.
>“That is what pushed her over the edge,” Ms Cope’s mother, Heidi Cope, said following a hearing at South Wales Central Coroner’s Court.
>The inquest was told that Miss Cope was a happy child who was enthusiastic about sports, becoming Welsh judo champion three times. But at the age of 15 she developed anorexia and spent several weeks in hospital undergoing treatment for the disorder.
>She went on to study health and social care in college and attended Plymouth University to train to be a paramedic, joining the Welsh Ambulance Service in 2018 after graduating.
>She was said to have been a well-liked member of the team who “loved her job” and enjoyed helping and saving people.
>Despite this, she continued to suffer with her mental health at times and family members said they believed she had never recovered from her eating disorder and was a “troubled soul”.
>On April 13, the day of her death, Miss Cope had spent some time downstairs with her parents before returning to her bedroom at around 1.30pm, and was said to have appeared “normal”.
>She was found dead by her mother at around 8.30pm.
>Colleagues and friends answered mother’s 999 call
>Paramedics who attended Mrs Cope’s 999 call were colleagues and friends of Miss Cope and in statements read out at the hearing said how “shocked” they were, and described her as “popular and well-loved”.
>A message found on Miss Cope’s body directed family members to look at the notes she had written on her phone.
>Those notes said she wanted the “horrendous” and “disturbing” thoughts in her head to stop, repeatedly said she was sorry, and thanked her colleagues for all the memories they shared.
>Assistant coroner Rachel Knight said: “Charlotte had a complex history including a longstanding eating disorder, depression and anxiety, and was further upset by a post on social media that likely caused her to be embarrassed.”
>‘She would be here today if it wasn’t for that post’
>Following the hearing, Mrs Cope said she believed the Facebook post had contributed to her daughter’s death.
>“I believe she would be here today if it wasn’t for that post,” she said.
>“She loved her family, her job, and the gym. She’d recently bought a car, booked to go on holiday with her friends, and got concert tickets to see Pink live.
>“She had everything to live for.”
>She added: “Charlotte did have anxiety and was obviously still struggling with her eating disorder and we supported her with that – we even built her a gym in the garage so she could continue to work out during lockdown. But I think the post pushed her over the edge.
>“That day she woke up to find the post had been shared hundreds of times and the messages being written about her were vile and she was too embarrassed.
>“I just want people to realise what a dangerous and nasty place Facebook can be, and what they post can have an impact on someone and their family.”
RIP young woman.
Social media is toxic, delete it.
Utterly heartbreaking.
One of the reasons I’m not on FB anymore is the mob mentality around viral pictures/videos like this. Makes me forget we don’t actually live in 1690s Salem, where assumptions become consensus amongst a baying crowd.
I wonder how many people who shared the original post will now share this tragic story on their FB, with messages like “be kind” or some other vacuous bullshit to farm likes or approval.
Social Media isn’t nasty by itself – its takes cunts with keyboards to make it that way.
RIP Charlotte.
Even the police in Facebook take part in this sort of pillorying for wrong doing. Just hope you don’t end up on the wrong side of the mob.
It’s obviously sad to hear but:
a) why are you killing yourself over something as trivial as this? just ignore people’s views and get on with your life. I guess it was the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak, but still it’s just people’s opinions. Ignore them. I am unvaccinated and despite people throwing vitriol at me for it, I remain unvaccinated and will never get the vaccine unless it becomes law.
b) her mother said she had “lots to live for” yet she had an eating disorder, anxiety and clear mental health problems. I mean, you can’t exactly have lots to live for if all those mental issues are stopping you from living a good life. That’s why I find it weird when they say these people have lots to live for. From where I’m standing, no one with significant mental health issues has much to live for. And I speak as someone who has known people with mental health issues – their life looks awful and hardly something where they have lots to live for.
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