Teaching assistant messaged mother to say she was ‘thinking about ending it all’ before her death

A “generous” and “bighearted” teaching assistant with body dysmorphia texted her mother to tell her she was considering “ending it all” just hours before her body was found at the bottom of a cliff, a court has said. research heard.

Mother of one Danyell Sinckler, 32, died in May 2022 after a long battle with her mental health that began at just 14 years old and culminated in her spending £7,000 on plastic surgery to look more like Instagram influencers.

On the day of her death, she argued with her boyfriend before texting a series of friends and relatives that she intended to take her own life.

Her phone also tried dialing 999, but the calls didn’t go through—either because of a lack of signal or because they ended before the operator could be reached.

Now Ms. Sinckler’s family has expressed doubts about the police’s handling of the case and questioned whether she chose to die by suicide. Kent Online reports.

Ms Sinckler had an argument with boyfriend Leon Morris in a pub in Broadstairs, Kent, before getting into her car and driving away, a coroner in Maidstone heard this week.

Over the next few hours, she contacted friends, family, and Mr. Morris, telling them she intended to take her own life.

She told her mother, Stephanie Eaton, “I’m thinking of ending it.”

Mrs. Eaton replied, ‘Where are you? I’ll be there in 20 minutes.’

She replied, “You’re late.”

Mrs. Sinckler dialed 999 three times and 911 twice during a ten-minute period starting at 9:30 p.m., but none of the calls connected.

Police told the inquest they were unable to determine whether this was due to a lack of signal atop the cliff at St Margaret’s Bay, or because the calls were terminated before they could connect.

Her mother went looking for her daughter, but could not find her and did not report her missing until the next day.

This was after Mrs Sinckler begged her not to call the police for driving under the influence of alcohol when she left the pub.

She had sent her exact location to her friend Mr Morris, but he claimed he never received the messages due to poor signal and spent the rest of the night in various bars around the city.

At 10.15am the following morning, Mrs Sinckler’s body was tragically found on the beach by a National Trust employee.

The inquest revealed that the 32-year-old had a history of mental health problems, including body dysmorphia, and had recently been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

After spending a total of £7,000 on cosmetic surgery to change her appearance, she told the Sun in 2019, she regretted putting in so much work and was directly influenced by Instagram.

She said, ‘I have body dysmorphia. I just don’t see what other people see now.

‘I won’t let my daughter use social media until she’s older. We must embrace who we are by nature.’

After the inquest, Ms Eaton told KentOnline that her daughter worked as a teaching assistant and made a real difference in people’s lives. She also owned a business as a beautician or skin care professional.

She said, “Danyell would go above and beyond for people — she always had a lot of time for everyone.

“She was generous, with her heart and her money. She never liked to think that someone else was unhappy. When one of her friends was down, she would always want to take them out and have a good time.

‘She was magnanimous, a sweet daughter and I was extremely proud of her diploma. She was a mother at a young age and she had overcome all these obstacles to get where she wanted to be.’

She said that the young people Mrs. Sinckler worked with always looked forward to seeing her, and that she had tremendous empathy for them.

“There was a girl who was non-verbal and Danyell managed to get her to sing, which was a real achievement.”

Mrs. Sinckler also had a daughter of her own, who is now 15 years old.

On Thursday, Katrina Hepburn, the coroner of central and south-east Kent, postponed the inquest until May to consider her conclusion.

It came after Ms. Sinckler’s family expressed doubts about whether she died by suicide.

They fear her tumultuous relationship with her boyfriend may have played a role in her death.

Mrs Hepburn said: ‘I have reviewed these messages and I understand that you are still concerned about his involvement in her death.

“I believe it will be difficult to complete the inquest without hearing from Leon Morris. If we don’t hear from him, we won’t have answers to your questions.’

The pair have known each other for six years and Mr Morris will testify at the inquest in May.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, you can contact the Samaritans free of charge and completely anonymously at 116 123, or visit samaritans.org.