Suicide verdict over M6 bridge jump death
A woman found dead on the M6 committed suicide by jumping from a motorway bridge just days after she called police threatening to blow her flat up, an inquest heard.
Christine Halls had been staying with her sister after the incident at her flat in Stowe Street, Leamore, and they were both in a car when it stopped at traffic lights on a bridge near to junction 10, for Walsall, Walsall Coroner's Court heard.
Sister Margaret Bell told how Miss Halls got out of the vehicle and jumped off the bridge in Churchill Road, on August 24 last year.
She told the inquest Miss Halls had made complaints about other residents living nearby and claimed she was threatened. She said: "I just heard her say, I ain't going to let them finish me off, I'll do it myself. Before I knew it, she was over the bridge. I tried to scream but she was just gone."
The 52-year-old died of multiple head and chest injuries. After she threatened to blow up her flat she was assessed by a mental health team and said she had been feeling depressed about the death of family members.
Black Country Coroner Robin Balmain said: "This is all very sad. This lady seems to have had a number of problems. That's a huge amount of emotional trauma for anyone to deal with. It seems likely this lady couldn't cope with a lot of real serious stress she was suffering from."
