Teenage mother found hanged days after discovering her baby had been adopted

By Daily Mail Reporter UPDATED: 15:24, 1 June 2011

 

Tragic: Annabelle Lee Morris hanged herself when she found out that her son (face blanked) had been adopted

 

A tragic teenage mother’s body was found hanged days after she discovered her baby had been adopted by another family.

Annabelle Lee Morris, 19, could not cope with her son being taken into care and then put up for adoption.

Her father, Thomas James Morris, found her in her bedroom on March 18 last year – nine days after she found out that her son had new adoptive parents, York Coroner’s Court was told.

The authorities had intervened as she was struggling to look after him herself.

Speaking after the inquest, her cousin, Lorna Dawber, said: ‘She adored her son and had she accepted the help when it was there her future would have been completely different. In time she would have got there.

‘That was the one thing in life that was hers, she absolutely worshipped him.’

She said Annabelle would not have put her family through that deliberately.

‘She was a good soul and she had a good heart,’ she said.

The inquest heard that the child was taken into foster care when he was less than a year old.

Annabelle, from York, was still allowed to see him a few times a week, but when a psychologist raised further serious concerns, steps were taken to have the baby adopted.
Although it was arranged for Annabelle to meet mental health workers in 2009, she did not attend an appointment.

She saw her son, then 15 months old, for the final time in January 2010. At the time of her death she was on a doctor’s waiting list to see a counsellor.

Prior to the adoption, her social worker, John Corden, said Annabelle was ‘ambivalent’ about accepting the support offered to her as this would involve ‘putting boundaries around her lifestyle’.

But he said that he and other colleagues had been impressed by the ‘high quality of interaction’ between mother and child and that she had been ‘dignified and honest’ in her work with social services.

Mr Corden said ‘I had frequent discussions with Annabelle about the way the case was going. She never suggested to me that if adoption were the outcome she would harm herself.

‘Annabelle was blessed with a warm and benign personality. She could present herself as a well functioning and capable young lady.

‘In the fullness of time, that may have been a considerable asset to her.’

Coroner Donald Coverdale recorded an open verdict and said the cause of her death was asphyxia due to hanging.

Noting that she had strong support from a loving family and from social services, he said: ‘Miss Morris was a 19-year-old with a number of problems relating back to childhood.
‘In recent times she had gone through the trauma of having her child adopted.

‘The final meeting with her child had been in January and that time must have been the most difficult of all.

‘It seems to me that she had time to reflect on the unhappy course of events culminating in the adoption. My best guess is that what has happened was an impulsive act, it could be described as a cry for help.’

In my opinion (please feel free to add your own in the comments)

Our opinion: Others can add their replies

1. It astounds me everyday that parents going for help have their children removed.  
2. This case enhances our research that happens throughout the UK.  Children are also being removed reporting suspected abuse.
3. Adoption is final. Our own research, and common sense, shows that not seeing your child ever again is mutual, inhumane and parents are treated worse than persons that have committed murder.  One person said in the media that adoption is 2^nd to the death penalty (citation needed on the author of this comment) Mr John David Corden, social worker.  We are not talking about parents that have actually neglected, abused or harmed their children, we are talking about parents reporting abuse or going for help as is in our case.  However, contra to this social workers are placing children with parents that are a risk, whereas children were returned to parents that abused their children. Social Workers use future risk of, something no one can defend against, but have no concerns of parents that any reasonable person would be considered a risk to their child.  Many parents have attempted suicide or experienced trauma after having children removed, those that have never committed suicide previously.
4. In my case, and parents across the UK have experienced inaccurate reports written against them.  These are given to psychologists, known in family courts as “expert witnesses”.  We are NOT allowed to prove that reports are inaccurate, should we prove to psychologists that social workers have lied we are deemed having a mental illness or paranoid.  Dr Hibbert was recently summons to the Old Bailey employed by social services at around £40000 a week falsely diagnosing parents to support social services.  Dr Hibbert also removed children from a parent that burnt the pasta.
5. The government summons a report compiled by Pro Jane Ireland. Pro Ireland criticised expert witnesses employed by social services.  A high percentage of reports were poor and most were not even qualified.  My expert witness criticised me stating as fact it was wrong to report abuse, that he had concerns that I did NOT drink smoke or take drugs, and recommended I be supervised because I reported social services to police and secretly taped him and social workers blatantly covering up child sexual abuse. The question I ask what is worse the person that covers up child abuse or the person who exposes the cover up? http://www.channel4.com/news/how-competent-are-expert-witnesses
6. “Noting that she had strong support from a loving family and from social services, he said:” Prior to adoption social services have to legally pass the child to extended family, our research suggests that this NEVER happens, we believe that this is due to foster care makes councils money, received directly from the government.  I believe, and someone please correct me if I am wrong, £2000 per week per child to which £400 goes to the foster carer (tax free).  Why was the extended family notified
7. Research suggests that Social Services, after removal of the child, gag parents not to speak out, and leave parents with NO support.  Social Services should have supported this parent. “It could be described as a cry for help.”  Where were social services?  They criticised this parent for not accepting the help but did she not go to them for help.  This is the same every time social workers twist reports.
8. “But he said that he and other colleagues had been impressed by the ‘high quality of interaction’ between mother and child and that she had been ‘dignified and honest’ in her work with social services.”  A per question 6 said she was “ambivalent” with support but impressed by the interaction.  This is a total contradiction of this parent’s ability to parent her child.  Nearly all parents that report abuse or seek help have their children removed.  Social Services said they were impressed by the support so why adopt the child?