An inquest has determined that a student in Wales committed suicide by falling from a bridge after her University falsely told her that she had failed her exams.
Mared Foulkes, 21, from Anglesey in north Wales, was studying pharmacy at Cardiff University at the time of her death. She fell from the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait and was said by witnesses to have left her car and walked towards the bridge edge without hesitation.
Ms. Foulkes had been told that she had failed her resit exams and scored only 39% when in fact she had passed with 62%. The mistake was made as she had been sent her results from the initial exam she took and not the resit. She had been with her family and told them she was going to buy food ingredients but never returned. Ms. Foulkes had been required to complete the course almost entirely alone due to the Covid-19 lockdown measures.
Her mother said:
"She received an automatic email - there was nothing personal - no phone call, nothing. She believed she had failed and the email said she could not progress with her degree. She was devoted to her course and to her work in the pharmacy, she would have been horrified. She would have felt like all her dreams and aspirations had finished with that sentence - for a 21-year-old it's unbelievable."
It was declared at the inquest that Ms. Foulkes had sought help from the University but that there was no indication she was suicidal.
The judge overseeing the case said:
"On the morning of her death Mared had received examination results. One email indicated that she had not successfully completed the year. Mared climbed on the ledge of the bridge and was seen going off the ledge. She was found beneath the bridge by a walker. There is no evidence that she slipped or tripped or fell by accident."
They added:
"Mared had not sought any help from a GP regarding low mood and there were no suicide notes. She did not report suicidal thoughts when she sought assistance from student support in 2019 but did appear distressed and admitted that she was engaging in self harm. Evidence suggests that she put herself on the ledge and walked with determination from her car to the ledge. There is no clear evidence whether she jumped but I do feel she took herself off the bridge by stepping off. I don't consider this to be a cry for help. I do consider that she had the intent to end her life and will return a conclusion of suicide."
[Based on reporting by: The Daily Mail]
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