Emily Owen attempted to take her own life and later died in hospital as ‘she could no longer cope’ with coronavirus worries (Picture: East Anglia News Service)

A teenager who was ‘always caring for other people’ has died after attempting to take her own life while terrified about the spread of coronavirus.

Emily Owen, 19, tried to kill herself on Wednesday last week after feeling ‘she could no longer cope’ with impending lockdown measures due to Covid-19, her family said.

She was rushed into critical care at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, but failed to regain consciousness and her family made the heartbreaking decision to allow her life support to be turned off on Sunday.

They said she had been ‘deeply affected’ by the global pandemic and had spoken of her wish to help people with mental illnesses navigate their own way through the isolation measures.


Emily, 19, was ‘always caring for other people’ her family said (Picture: East Anglia News Service)

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In a Facebook post just before her death, Emily’s parents, two sisters and brother said they were living out ‘the worst week of our lives’.

They are now asking for people to watch out for vulnerable loved ones during the pandemic to ensure no other lives are lost to suicide after Emily raised fears a UK-wide lockdown would result in her ‘world closing in’.

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On Saturday, the family wrote: ‘Our darling, beautiful, crazy daughter and sister tragically decided that she could no longer cope and tried to take her own life on Wednesday. She has been in critical care since then.

‘The decision has been made today to turn off her life-support tomorrow afternoon, giving time for the hospital to prepare for organ donation, something she signed up for in 2012 when she was only 12-years-old. That sums her up – always caring for other people.

‘Emily would have wanted you to check on your loved ones in these very difficult times, as she believed the fear of the unknown may drive them over the edge and (she) was planning on volunteering to help these people.

Emily chose to donate her organs and will help save the lives of four people (Picture: East Anglia News Service)

‘We appreciate all the amazing support we have already had and apologise in advance for nor responding to all your loving messages during this difficult time.’

In a later post, after Emily’s death, they wrote: ‘We are all absolutely devastated but also immensely proud of everything she achieved in her life.

‘So many people have messaged us over the past five days saying how Emily helped them through hard times of their own, and we had no idea how much positive impact she had on those around her.

‘To many people. Emily was a really fun, energetic, happy girl, but only a few were aware of the many years of internal battles she had.

‘Few people are aware, but four years ago she was diagnosed with high functioning autism and had a daily battle to fit in and conform with social norms. She didn’t want anyone to know, but now she has gone we want to make people know that autism comes in all shapes and sizes.



‘Despite this she managed to finish school, go to college, finish an apprenticeship and start working in the King’s Arms* Please look out for people, be kind as you never know what is going on in people’s lives.’

They added that Emily’s wish to donate her organs had been followed, giving hope to four families – three of them children ‘who are starting new lives’ as a result.

The King’s Arms pub in Shouldham, Norfolk, where Emily worked for two years, is now raising money in her memory for Norfolk and Waveney Mind.

Emily was worried about the impact of strict lockdown measures on people suffering with mental health problems (Picture: Getty)

Abbie Panks, vice-chairman of Shouldham Community Enterprises which runs the pub, said: ‘Emily was a whirlwind of energy, so caring and funny, truly beautiful inside and out. She was loved by our team and customers alike. She was also an incredibly talented artist.

‘The team are understandably heartbroken. We are going to miss Emily enormously, she was a part of our family here.’

She added: ‘We are heartbroken that we won’t see her breeze through our doors like a tornado of energy again, or hear her distinctive laugh.’

If you would like to donate to the Norfolk and Waveney Mind fund in Emily’s memory, visit the Just Giving page here.

Need support? Contact the Samaritans For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.

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