Reiha McLelland, 13, who is focus of an inquest in Gisborne after taking her life in 2014.
Reiha McLelland, 13, who is focus of an inquest in Gisborne after taking her life in 2014.
Teenager Reiha McLelland uttered a cry for help which went unheard and it came as she was feeling betrayed by the teacher she loved, the inquest into her self-inflicted death heard today.
"She felt betrayed by the one person that was her best friend," said psychiatrist Dr Andrew Cox, describing a possible scenario which led to the death of the 13-year-old.
The scenario was drawn from Cox under questioning from Coroner Carla na Nagara, pursuing a suggestion made earlier in the inquest that Reiha's disclosure might have been made in the expectation her confidentiality would be breached.
Reiha McLelland took her life in 2014 while a patient of Tairawhiti District Health Board mental health services and after the end of an intense relationship with her former Gisborne Intermediate teacher Sam Back and his partner Angie Mepham, also a teacher.
Gisborne teacher Sam Back, whose relationship for former pupil Reiha Maclelland was labelled 'grossly inappropriate' at the inquest into her self-inflicted death.
There had previously been evidence of a decision by the psychologist and psychiatrist treating Reiha to keep from her parents and police a disclosure from the teen that she had obtained and then sought out the means by which she would ultimately take her life.
The health workers said the decision to not pass on the information was made in a bid to maintain the relationship of trust they were developing with Reiha.
Media are barred from specifying the exact means by which people take their own lives.
Dr Cox, retained to advise Coroner na Nagara, said he thought "she's wanting help" in disclosing that she had accessed the means by which she later took her life.
He said it could have been in the hope it would lead to action to restrict further access.
"I think she knows she was too close to suicide and it was too easy. I think she wanted to be prevented from doing that."
Cox said: "It's one of the most depressing interpretations of the disclosure. Was that her aim?"
Reiha had been assured by mental health staff repeatedly that her communication with them was confidential unless there were issues of safety, he said.
"She had been told too often safety would lead to disclosure," he said. For this reason, it was likely she told her psychologist she had accessed the means she used to take her life some weeks earlier.
He said Reiha was an "intelligent girl" who had been warned a number of times that disclosures around suicide would lead to others being told.
Cox said it could have been that Reiha had wanted her parents to know how high the stakes were. At this, Reiha's mother Hinemoa broke down in tears.
He said it could have been that Reiha's disclosure on July 21, 2014, and her death on August 1 was recorded in her diary.
An entry on July 2, 2014, showed she had seen her former teacher Sam Back, who she had exchanged about 4000 text messages with over three months in an inappropriate and intense relationship.
Back had been banned from contacting her since April 2014 when police began investigating his contact with the girl.
No evidence of sexual contact was discovered and charges were not laid, although Back was struck off and Mepham censured after a New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal hearing.
Angela Mepham pictured outside the Gisborne District Court today after giving evidence at the inquest into the death of Reiha Maclelland, 13.
Cox said the sighting would have an impact on Reiha. "It brought back to her months had gone by and there had been no attempt to contact her.
"It's probably the final betrayal and loss of trust that leads her to enact her previously rehearsed suicide plan. She felt betrayed by the one person that was her best friend."
Cox's report to the coroner advised access to the particular means by which Reiha ended her life be considered an over-riding factor by medical staff.
He also said a family approach to issues was essential, particularly for teens who identified family issues. This had not happened in Reiha's case.
He also advised the adolescent mental health service needed to explore hiring a full-time psychiatrist - a step Tairawhiti District Health Board had identified in its own review and adopted.
Dr James Cavney, the forensic psychiatrist hired to provide an expert opinion to Back and Mepham's lawyer, told the court earlier the primary cause of Reiha's death was the decision by mental health staff to not tell her parents of the heightened risk around a particular means of her taking her life.
He said the relationship with teachers contributed to her death in the sense it made her a more complicated case to treat.
But he said all contact between Back and Reiha ended by April 17 and there was plenty of time for mental health staff to "manage issues arising from that relationship".
