A teenager leapt in front of a train after taking a selfie she called “last pic before I die”, an inquest heard.
Halima Begum, 17, was sick of college rumours about pictures she allegedly sent to a boy, a friend said in a statement.
Halima, who believed she had bipolar disorder, left a heartbreaking note claiming her loved ones would be “better off” without her, an inquest at Walthamstow Coroner’s Court heard.
In the week before her death Halima, of Exeter Gardens in Ilford, was at the centre of a rumour which had seriously upset her.
Just days later, on 11 December 2013, she committed suicide at Redbridge Underground Station.
Halima, a pupil of Morpeth School in Bethnal Green had many friends, the inquest heard.
Thayaba Begum, Halima’s best friend wrote a letter describing her.
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“She was good hearted but troubled,” she said. “I was her closest friend and she told me everything, but some things she told me about seemed almost unrealistic.”
Thayaba said her friend often fantasised about situations and relationships and was private about her phone and other friends.
Police confirmed she had made at least one male friend in an online chat room.
The week before Halima died a rumour had started in her school
The headteacher of Morpeth School in Bethnal Green, Jemima Riley said Hailma’s attendance was being looked into.
She also confirmed two girls had confronted Halima about the rumour during ‘independent study hours’ in the library and she had become very upset.
Train operator Colin Macfoy was pulling into the station on ‘automatic’ setting when he saw one female passenger at the end of the station.
He described how he watched Halima step back before jumping onto the tracks.
Mr Macfoy immediately applied the brakes and called for help.
“Everything I have described happened in about two seconds,” he said. “I can say without a doubt this woman did not trip or fall and she was not pushed. It was a deliberate act.”
A number of photographs were found on Halima’s phone indicated what she planned to do, including one titled, ‘last pic before I die, nice knowing you b * ’.
In her last days she confided in a friend via a texting app on her phone that she was considering jumping in front of a train.
A letter from Halima was found on the platform by the police after they arrived.
The note, confirmed to be written by Halima, described how she was a “happy child” and loved her brother, but felt she no longer had a place in the world.
She said she believed she was suffering from bipolar disorder.
A verdict of suicide was reached by the coroner at Walthamstow Coroner’s Court on Monday morning.
