Trigger warning: This article discusses suicide, which may be triggering to some readers.
On the night of January 6, 2017, 26-year-old Abigail Brown and her boyfriend, 30-year-old James Brum, watched a movie together before heading out to a club in Phuket.
In the early hours of the next morning, the British couple got into an argument, and Abi headed back to their apartment alone.
Three hours later, after giving her time to “cool off”, James returned and discovered his partner, described as “a gregarious fun loving girl with a zest for life”, had taken her own life.
This week, an inquest ruled her death as a "tragic accident", The Telegraph reports.
Abi's mother, Jane Rowland, told Portsmouth Coroner’s Court of the moment James called her to tell her her daughter had died.
"James said Abi is gone. We had a silly row, she went back to the room...She’s died," she told the court.
"He said [the row] was nothing. They did not really row. I did not see them all the time but they had a whole future planned.
"That night she had too much to drink. She had gone back in a huff. I know in her mind she thought he was going to follow her back, find her and they would move on and never have that row again."
She added that she "truly believed" her daughter had not intended to take her own life.
"She meant only to frighten him or upset him or make him realise how upset she was in that moment," she said.
The court heard that James and Abi were a "loving couple" who had plans to get married and have children together.
"They had a whole future planned," Jane said.
Coroner Samantha Marsh recorded a verdict of misadventure during the inquest, adding that she believe Abi took "a risk" that had terrible consequences.
"I believe Abi undertook a risk, and that was the risk of putting something around her neck but I don't believe Abi intended the consequence of what she did," she said.
"She had a healthy lifestyle and was physically and mentally fit and healthy...In terms of Abi's history, she had never done anything like this before and there were no concerns of mental health issues.
"I think it went wrong. James did not follow her back from the party like she thought he would have done. He did not come home for three hours, maybe he gave her time to cool off.
"For that reason I am satisfied Abi's death was due to misadventure. I am very very sorry for your loss."
Speaking outside the inquest, Jane added that there is "no one to blame for this moment of folly" but urged others to learn a valuable lesson from Abi's mistake.
"When young people travel to these hot exciting places with cheap and unregulated alcohol they need to look out for each other and always stay safe," she said.
If you or someone you know needs help you can call Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyondblue 1300 224 636.
Top Comments
I'm terribly sorry about this case, just some misunderstanding between the couples. I can only say, why did he leave her for that long a period ; 3 hours, cud at least leave her be for 15 or 20 minutes to cool things off with each other. Sorry
Why would you put a rope around your neck. This wasn't his fault
Hi Sandra, I agree this is a terrible, awful tragedy and we should always look out for our loved ones - especially if they have been drinking or using drugs but she is an adult. It wasn't his responsibility to supervise her. It's not his fault.
We don't know the details. She might have been threatening violence, or he might have stayed out with friends. There have been plenty of nights when I have gone home a few hours earlier than my husband when we're out partying - and that's not even when we have had a fight! That's not the part I found weird.
So the inquest basically found she was using the threat of suicide to control her boyfriend. Sounds like a real healthy relationship. As sad as this chapter is for everyone involved it's a good thing that poor man didn't lock himself into a lifetime of such cruel & abusive form of manipulation.
Sweet Jesus, are you saying her suicide was a blessing for him?
True, as is the coroner basically locked him into a lifetime of guilt for not following her back asap. That poor guy! I can't imagine how awful he must be feeling, lost the love of his life, had that verdict handed down with that wording, and now has people around the world debating whether he's responsible for her emotional state and subsequent suicide or not.
At the very least, the media could be reporting this story with aliases used.
I tend to agree with you on this one. Trying to control people's actions to create an outcome only you want is selfish and manipulative. Silly girl, poor parents and very sad to hear the boyfriend found her that way.
Exactly. She could not have been mentally fit.
I am a woman and we all have been educated that any man 'threatening suicide' during a fight or "if she leaves he'll kill himself" is very much considered abusive, controlling and manipulation. Healthy, stable people do not play with nooses and threaten suicide and plan a 'fright' for their partner. It is highly dysfunctional, distrubed behaviour.