An inquest into the death of TikTok star Imogen Nunn has paused after a sign language translator wasn’t able to appear to interpret for deaf witnesses.
Nunn — who shared videos about her mental health with 780,000 TikTok followers — was found dead in her apartment on New Year’s Day 2023, per reports by the BBC and The Guardian. According to multiple outlets, the 25-year-old influencer died a month after telling a support worker about a “pro-suicide forum” and said she planned to end her life using a substance she bought online.
Over two years later, on March 17, an inquest beganin the coroner’s court in the English town of Horsham. Her mother, Louise Sutherland, claimed Nunn’s death was “avoidable,” according to a statement shared by the BBC.
“Had appropriate actions been taken in response to the numerous times Immy contacted professionals she trusted asking for help, she would still be alive today,” said Sutherland, referring to her late daughter by her nickname.
However, on Wednesday, March 26, the BBC reported that the court was adjourned. The outlet noted that West Sussex County Council said a sign language translator was booked, but they were unable to attend “due to circumstances beyond our control.”
Last week, a West Sussex County Council spokesperson told PEOPLE that the inquest was expected to conclude on March 28.
Prior to the inquest’s halted proceedings, Sutherland said professional services “failed” Nunn, per The Guardian. She also said her daughter was born “profoundly deaf” and struggled with her mental health from the age of 14, including multiple suicide attempts.
The inquest was informed that Nunn spoke of her suicidal thoughts to her support worker at the deaf adult community team (DACT) at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust on Nov. 23, 2022. A British Sign Language interpreter was not present at the following welfare check, and Nunn did not see mental health professionals “for at least several weeks afterward,” the inquest heard, according to The Guardian.
The British newspaper reported that she spent Christmas with her parents, but harmed herself on Dec. 29, 2022, and was treated for a wound on her arm at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
The inquest also heard that Nunn texted her care coordinator at the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, saying: “I’m simply having the worst few months and I think I need to be admitted to a ward with sign language,” per the BBC’s coverage.
“I cannot look after myself anymore,” the TikToker wrote. “I can easily go into the last resort and I don’t want to.”
The inquest was told that Nunn spoke to her psychologist on Dec. 30, 2022, said she “did not feel safe” and had “a plan to kill herself” by taking a poisonous substance, The Guardian reported. She agreed to be admitted to a mental health crisis facility, but her admission never happened as her care coordinator did not meet her that day as planned.
In a statement read to the inquest and reported by The Guardian, Sutherland said, “Immy didn’t want to die, but she was exhausted from fighting desperately for the help she needed.”
