TV comic tells inquest her daughter was ‘damaged’ by sex work before she killed herself

A star of TV’s ‘Mock the Week’ told an inquest her daughter had been ‘damaged’ by sex work before she killed herself at a controversial clinic.

Shaquelle Vidal, 23, daughter of comedian Ava, had a history of self-harm and substance abuse and had taken several overdoses when she hanged herself with a phone charger flex.

Ms Vidal admitted herself to the hospital on March 11 last year citing relationship problems with her 57-year-old boyfriend James Lyle and work difficulties.

Her mother told the inquest Shaquelle had been working as a prostitute before she died – which is disputed by other family members including Shaquelle’s ‘unofficial step father’
John Gordillo who is a stand-up comedian and Ava Vidal’s ex-boyfriend.

Ava Vidal told the hearing said: ‘I just wanted to go back to the point that she was engaged in sex work and I don’t know why the other side is not admitting it.

‘That sort of work can be very damaging to a young girl.

‘I can produce the evidence for that, I did produce the evidence.’

Mr Gordillo who attended the inquest with Ava Vidal’s mother, appeared agitated and shook his head as she made the statement.

Last year Ava Vidal lost a High Court battle with her daughter’s father over the final resting place for her remains.

The trainee chef was found dead at the Nightingale Hospital in Marylebone, west London, on April 7 after writing in an email that she thought of suicide virtually every night.

Her death is the third in less than a year and chargers are now treated as contraband at the clinic.

Recording a verdict of suicide, coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said: ‘Shaquelle Vidal was 23 years old, a young woman who struggled with anxiety, depression, ADHD and possibly a personality disorder.

‘She had a history of deliberate self-harm, two or three overdoses and one hospital admission, but nothing in recent times.’

‘There was clearly concern my nursing staff about the lack of engagement by Miss Vidal,’ she added.

‘When she was found she was already in rigor mortis, which means that she had been dead for several hours.

‘This was not a cry for help as she didn’t expect anyone to come and see her for several hours.

‘My conclusion to the question of whether she deliberately took her own life is that she has died as a result of suicide.’

Dr Jeremy Beider, a psychiatrist who had been working with Ms Vidal since April 2017, told Westminster Coroner’s Court: ‘In February there was very significant difficulty at work.

‘She was not getting along with work colleagues.

‘The atmosphere had changed and she collapsed at work, an ambulance had to be called.

‘She experienced anxiety about going to work at home and she began to take Ubers rather than public transport.

‘Her anxiety began to manifest itself at home and in February her relationship had begun to deteriorate.’

Shaquelle was brought up by her mother but went to live with family in Barbados as a teenager after struggling with mental health and drug issues.

By the time she returned to the UK aged 18 she severed ties with her mother and had minimal contact with her for the rest of her short life.

Dr Beider said: ‘She had not seen her mother by choice since she was 15 or 16.’

Ms Vidal had started drinking heavily and Dr Beider diagnosed Ms Vidal with a generalised anxiety disorder and depression.

He told the court that because her admission to Nightingale Hospital was voluntary, she was allowed unescorted outings, which she often used saying she was visiting friends.

Ms Vidal said she did not like people in the hospital entering her room because of past sexual abuse.

‘Having been raped at 16, she felt it was almost a violation someone going into her room in the middle of the night and she was feeling uncomfortable,’ he said.

‘She was saying ‘I don’t think I can stay here, I will discharge myself because of this issue.’

The doctor said Ms Vidal would drink on the unsescorted outings in violation of hospital rules.

Representing family members, Claire Vanoverdijk read an email Ms Vidal had written in March 2017.

‘I cannot related to people, cannot cope with a job, I have social anxiety, 70 per cent of evenings I consider killing myself.

Her death is the third at the mental health hospital in less than a year.

Six months earlier socialite and artist Daisy Boyd, 28, the granddaughter of River Cafe co-founder Rose Gray, sent pictures of herself snorting cocaine to another patient hours before she suffocated herself.

Shaquelle Vidal hanged herself from the back of her door with her computer charging cable, the inquest heard.

The court heard shortly before her death Ms Vidal had been on a five-day-unauthorised absence where she had largely dodged staff’s attempts to contact her.

Mental health nurse Judy Thomas said she found the body during a routine handover check.

‘She wasn’t on the bed,’ the nurse told the inquest.

‘The next step was to check whether she was in the shower.

‘We saw on the door some cables hanging over, we suspected what had happened but when we checked it was obviously her.

‘She used her laptop cable to hang herself.’

Two nurses laid her on the floor and started doing CPR on her but were unable to revive Ms Vidal.

Eventually, paramedics arrived and Miss Vidal was pronounced dead.

Asked about the protocol for cables, nurse Matele Methuko said: ‘We would take them away to assess them.

‘If they were longer than one metre we would use ties to shorten them.

‘Unless someone has a specific risk of suicide we would allow them to keep the cables.’

Mr Methuko explained that the cables were secured with hard plastic ties, that would required scissors or some other tool to cut through.

He said she would have been searched when she returned from her five-day-absence.

Several members of staff had attempted to contact Miss Vidal during her absence but she either did not pick up her phone or would tell them she would return the next morning.

Nurse Bernie Guthrie said: ‘She rang back and said that she did not have time to return because she had a meeting the next.’

She added: ‘She rang back to say that she had friends looking after her and that she would contact the staff next morning.’

Speaking of the changes of the hospital’s policy on charger cables since Miss Vidal’s death, compliance manager Lesley Galasso said: ‘We have reviewed it.

‘We do appreciate that patients need to charge their laptops and phones and we now have installed cupboards with compartments.

‘In each compartment there is a charger socket.

‘The patients can attach their devices but don’t have access to the charger.’

‘So there is no length of cable?’ asked Dr Radcliffe.

‘It would in the cupboard, under lock and key,’ replied Ms Galasso.

Other changes included chargers now being considered contraband, and staff were now encouraged to challenge any action that is a deviation from policy and highlight it to senior management.

Asked why no-one contacted Miss Vidal’s friends or family when it became apparent she was not engaging with the treatment, Ms Galasso said: ‘I know that is a bone of contention, but she had forbidden us to contact anybody and did not give us the details of any one person.

‘She was adamant that she did not want anyone contacted.’

Verdict: Suicide.

ends