A 20-year-old Art student from Ballymena, NI, tragically took her own life due to fear her attacker would escape justice.
An inquest today heard that Hannah Armstrong was assaulted during a camping trip with friends at the age of 17.
At the age of 20 Hannah decided to build a new life for herself and moved to a seaside university. Two-weeks into the move she confided in a friend and shared her fears that her attacker would never be brought to justice. She said she feared bumping into him in her home town.
Hannah said that she wanted to hurt herself. The concerned friend called authorities but when officers visited her halls of residence they found Hannah had already hung herself.
According to The Mirror, Hannah’s mother Dr. Hilary Armstrong said at today’s inquest that her daughter was “bright, happy and highly intelligent”.
“She had a passion for drawing and nature, and was an exceptionally gifted artist. She spent all of her free time out of school drawing and sculpting.”
Dr. Armstrong continued to say that she noticed changes in her daughter.
She said:
“In the summer of 2014 her appearance changed. She had her hair cut short, and her make up was dramatic.”
“She appeared angry most of the time and avoided spending time with the family.”
Hannah only revealed the details of the assault after some time.
“She said it made her feel violated and she admitted she had thoughts about hanging herself,” Dr. Armstrong added.
“She began to detest her local town because of the fear of bumping into him, and said she couldn’t stand the small mindedness of the local people”
According to The Daily Mail, Dr. Armstrong says the Irish mental health services failed to provide aid to her daughter.
“Her mental illness was triggered by the assault which the local mental health service [in Ireland] did not take seriously.”
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