Deaf TikTok star told care worker she bought poison online month before death

A deaf TikTok star who died after ingesting a poisonous substance told a mental health service about a “pro-choice suicide forum” and lethal chemicals she had bought online a month before her death, an inquest has heard.

Imogen Nunn took a poisonous substance and died in Brighton, East Sussex, on New Year’s Day 2023.

The 25-year-old raised awareness of hearing and mental health issues on her social media accounts, which attracted more than 780,000 followers.

An inquest into her death heard on Monday Ms Nunn was “failed” by services meant to help her, according to a statement by her mother Louise Sutherland.

The inquest in Horsham was told Ms Nunn, referred to as “Immy” in court, contacted her support worker at the deaf adult community team (DACT) at South West London and St George’s NHS Trust on November 23 2022, and told them she had “bought something online that she planned to take to end her life”.

Ms Nunn also made reference to a “pro-choice suicide forum”, the court heard.

In the statement read to the inquest, Thomas Beamont, representing Ms Sutherland and Immy’s father Ray Nunn, said: “Ray and I believe that Immy felt hopeless and let down by the time of her death, and that she was failed.

“Immy didn’t want to die, but she was exhausted from fighting desperately for the help she needed.”

Ms Sutherland told the court her daughter, who was born “profoundly deaf”, had mental health difficulties from age 14.

In the years that followed, she made several attempts on her life, and was detained under the Mental Health Act in 2018.

During her time in hospital, Ms Nunn began sharing her experiences on social media posts.

“She found success on TikTok where she established over 800,000 followers, a platform she used to share her experiences and struggles with mental health, and the challenges she faced as a deaf person,” Ms Sutherland said in her statement.

“In her TikTok videos, Immy would put a positive spin on her experiences.

“We thought it was a good outlet for her, helping her to build up her self-esteem which had almost completely depleted after missing out on so much of her teenage life.”

On September 15 2021, after spending nearly four years as an inpatient in Springfield Hospital’s ward for deaf adults in south-west London, Ms Nunn was discharged and started living in a flat in Brighton, with the support of community mental health teams.

But the inquest was told by July 2022 her mental health began deteriorating again and she stopped engaging with mental health professionals.

The court heard she purchased lethal chemicals online on November 14, and received the parcel at home on November 21.

She contacted Carmen Jones, her allocated worker at DACT, on November 23 complaining that she had suicidal thoughts.

This prompted Sussex Police to conduct a welfare check, but no British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter attended, and Ms Nunn did not see mental health professionals “for at least several weeks afterwards”, the coroner heard.

On December 29, after spending Christmas with her parents, Ms Nunn harmed herself and went to A&E at Royal Sussex County Hospital with a wound on her arm.

The inquest heard she texted her care coordinator Ray McCullagh at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, saying: “I’m simply having the worst few months and I think I need to be admitted to a ward with sign language.

“I cannot look after myself anymore. I can easily go into the last resort and I don’t want to.”

Despite this, Ms Nunn was left alone in the emergency room and left before being seen by the hospital mental health team, the inquest heard.

On December 30, Ms Nunn told her psychologist she “did not feel safe” and had “a plan to kill herself” by drinking poison.

She told her psychologist at the time that she did not possess any poison, and agreed to be admitted into a mental health crisis facility “to keep herself safe”, the inquest heard.

But Mr McCullagh did not meet her that day as planned, and her admission never happened, the court was told.

In her statement, Ms Sutherland added: “We believe that Immy’s death was avoidable, and that had appropriate actions been taken in response to the numerous times Immy contacted professionals she trusted asking for help, she would still be alive today.”

Ms Sutherland added: “She was the most beautiful, kind, gentle, and loving daughter.

“Our whole world is broken by her death.”

In a statement read on his behalf by Mr Beamont, Ms Nunn’s father Ray said: “If there was a word for us to describe her, it would be ‘rainbow’.

“She had an aura that was just so special.

“If you had the pleasure to meet Immy you would have met, the most gentle, kind, and genuine young lady, someone filled only with love, who cared deeply for her family.”

Senior Coroner for West Sussex Penelope Schofield said the inquest would look at “the care and treatment of Imogen from the September 15 2022… including the assessment and welfare check by the police on the November 23 2022”.

She added how Ms Nunn obtained the poison would not form part of the inquest due to an ongoing police investigation.

It comes as Canadian chef Kenneth Law is facing a murder trial in his home country for allegedly supplying poisonous chemicals to people around the world who have ended their lives.

He has been linked to dozens of suicides in the UK, according to the National Crime Agency.