'Nicest ever' mum left work 'abruptly' then was found dead in a hotel room

A mum described as being "the nicest person ever" abruptly left work and checked into a hotelwhere she was found dead the next day.

Emma Marcus, 43, from Southport, died on March 12 after checking into the Balmoral Lodge hotel the night before. Staff at the hotel grew concerned after not seeing the mum, while her son, Bailey, filed a missing persons report which referred to Emma as being a "vulnerable person." Emma had experienced mental health struggles for a number of months, and had at one point made an attempt to take her own life, an inquest at Preston Coroner's Court heard.

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She was hospitalised in December for a depressive episode and suicidal thoughts, and later discharged with a treatment plan to improve her condition at home. Her dosage of the anti depressant drug venlafaxine was increased to aid her treatment, but in February Emma returned to hospital with acute abdominal pain and vomiting. The lack of the drug in her system is believed to have contributed to her mental health issues and resulted in a suicide attempt in hospital, LancsLive reports.

Emma was assessed and informed the mental health team that she no longer wanted to take her life. She was then sent home with a plan to aid her as doctors provided regular check ups on her condition. On March 11, Emma abruptly left her workplace and booked a stay at Balmoral Lodge, but told friends she would be staying at a different hotel, The Royal Clifton.

Emma Mather, Area Coroner at Preston Coroner's Court said: "She was a much loved mother, friend and sister. She experienced significant challenges with her mental health over the years. What I can see from this is that she has agreed to a plan to get her home and as soon as she's gone home she thought she didn't want to do this. It's an incredible difficult situation that every body was in."

At the inquest was Emma's son, dad Darren, and ex-partner Robert. Bailey told the court: "She was the nicest person ever. (Mental Health services) were willing to send her home multiple times but family insisted. She would tell the mental health team she was ok but then would text others saying she wanted to kill herself."

The coroner concluded that Emma's cause of death was suicide.

Contact the Samaritans for mental health support on 116 123, email at josamaritans.org or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.