KEY POINTS
- Sinead Bowles died of suicide days after she contracted COVID-19
- She had texted her friend about not waking up on the day of her death
- The coroner claimed COVID-19 may have been a factor in Bowles' death
A 21-year-old university student who contracted COVID-19 died by suicide on the day she texted a friend she did not want to "wake up."
Sinead Bowles, of Staffordshire, England, was found dead at her family home located along Eastfield Drive on July 14. Her friend and neighbor, Keisha Nichols, raised the alarm after realizing Bowles had not let her dogs out, the Stoke On Trent Live reported.
Paramedics were unable to save Bowles by the time she was found.
"I genuinely wish I could go to sleep and not wake up," the Staffordshire University student texted Nichols earlier that day. Bowles also left several "goodbye" notes on her bed.
Bowles, who was furloughed as a team leader at the Alton Towers Resort theme park and resort complex due to the pandemic, allegedly contracted COVID-19 when she went out with her friends days before her death. She had just completed the second year of her degree course and hoped to eventually go on to Cambridge to pursue her master's degree.
"I think her feelings came on quickly. She just felt she'd got Covid and was locked up," Bowles' father, Andy, told the platform.
Andy and his ex-wife, Anita, described their daughter as a "shining light" that showed no signs of feeling depressed or having mental health problems before her death.
"Like a lot of parents who are in this position, the common denominator is you never expect your child to take that course of action," Andy noted.
North Staffordshire senior coroner Andrew Barkley claimed COVID-19 may have been a factor in Sinead's death, but it was unclear, the Birmingham Mail noted. It was also unclear if Sinead was vaccinated. Barkley ruled her death as suicide.
Sinead and Keisha allegedly set up a podcast from a storage room during the pandemic, which they used to talk about positive ways to improve mental health.
"She also had a passion for Men Unite and helping others," Sinead's mother, Anita, said.
Sinead's family has launched a fundraiser for the mental health charity Young Minds in her memory, which has raised £1,951 ($2,655) as of writing.
If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.
Representation. Sinead Bowles, 21, died by suicide on July 14 - just hours after she texted a friend that she wanted "to go to sleep and not wake up." Photo: Pixabay
