A 13-year-old teenager who had reported a sexual assault and been turned away from a hospital bed was ‘calling out for assistance’ when she committed herself.
Social services needed to aid Ella Murray, but because of a breakdown in communication, she was not given a hospital bed.
According to an inquiry into her death, she had a history of self-harm, including overdosing in 2022 and 2023 and visiting a counselor from April to July of the same year.
She was assigned to school counseling services for suicidal thoughts and poor mood, and after telling a staff member about an alleged sexual assault, they reported her to social services.
Ella informed the staff she wanted to be hospitalized when she was brought to the hospital in November of that year, but it was decided to have a mental health nurse visit her at home instead.
