Ola de suicidios juveniles en Gales
20/02/2008
El cadáver de una chica de 16 años fue hallado ayer en la zona del sur de Gales donde en el último año han aparecido muertos 16 adolescentes, que supuestamente se suicidaron.
El cuerpo de la joven, identificada como Jenna Parry, fue descubierto en una arboleda por un hombre que paseaba a su perro en el pueblo de Cefn Cribwr, en el que vivía la víctima y que pertenece al condado de Bridgend, donde desde enero del 2007 ha habido una ola de muertes sospechosas.
Con este último aparente suicidio, asciende a 17 el número de jóvenes de entre 16 y 27 años que supuestamente se ha quitado la vida en ese condado, si bien la Policía volvió a insistir en que las muertes no están relacionadas.
En una rueda de prensa, el subcomisario Dave Morris aseguró que no había ningún pacto entre las víctimas, algunas de las cuales se conocían y frecuentaban la misma página de internet, y lo único en común era que "eran jóvenes con serios asuntos por resolver".
Antes de Parry, las últimas dos víctimas en Bridgend fueron, la semana pasada, dos primos, que murieron con un día de diferencia.
Nathaniel Pritchard, de 15 años, falleció en el hospital donde fue trasladado después de que la policía fuera alertada de que un joven se había autolesionado en su domicilio.
Kelly Stephenson, de 20 años, fue encontrada muerta cuando estaba de vacaciones con su familia en Kent (sur de Inglaterra).
Todos los jóvenes muertos vivían en diferentes localidades del condado de Bridgend, que tiene una población de 130.000 personas.
Teenage model 'hanged herself after shopping trip' for no apparent reason
Dreams of fame: Aspiring model Chelsea Smith
A girl of 16 who dreamed of being a model has been found hanged at her home.
Chelsea Smith's distraught mother found her body when she returned home from a shopping trip.
The teenager's family have no idea why she apparently took her life and are still trying to understand what happened to their "beautiful, bossy" girl.
Chelsea, a keen dancer, had her own page on the social networking website Bebo.
Her death comes in the wake of a series of 14 recent suicides involving young people in Bridgend, South Wales, and fears that they may have been linked by websites such as Bebo and Facebook.
However, there is no suggestion that Chelsea's death has any connection to these.
The teenager is believed to have killed herself in an upstairs room at the family home in Stratton, near Swindon, on Tuesday, February 5.
She lived there with her mother, Trudy Young, her sister Kristy, 21, and her 23-year-old brother Ben.
Her mother said Chelsea had been turning into an independent young woman who was growing up fast.
"We don't know why she did what she did but it's not how we will remember her," she said.
"Chelsea was beautiful, always made up, always perfect. I remember how I used to do her make-up for her.
"The next time I do it will be the last. When someone dies, people talk about them in the past tense - we don't want that because Chelsea will always be here in our eyes.
"She'll always be the bossy, cheeky Chelsea we've always loved."
Her family have set up a memorial book on Chelsea's Bebo website, which has been flooded with tributes from her friends.
One wrote: "The question on everyone's lips is why?"
Her sister Kristy said: "She's left a huge void in our lives, but she will never be forgotten.
"She may not be here in body, but she is in spirit and she'll be with us forever.
"We would tell each other everything. She was a madam sometimes and we'd row - but five minutes later we were best friends again."
Chelsea's 46-year-old father Simon Jeremias, who lives in Birmingham, said: "I feel like a piece of my heart has been stolen."
Her family are inviting Chelsea's friends to their home to sit quietly in her bedroom, and reflect on her life.
A spokesman for Wiltshire police said: "There are no suspicious circumstances.
"We are treating this as a suspected suicide."
The Swindon coroner's office said the matter was still in the hands of the police.