wedding and looked really happy to be there. In fact,
friends said she was the 'life and soul of the wedding party'
as head bridesmaid. She'd helped organize people and
dragged many people onto the dance floor, so imagine their
shock when they heard she'd hanged herself just hours after
the wedding, still wearing her bridesmaid's dress.
"She was the life and soul. She got everybody up
and dancing, which is no mean feat. She was
getting everyone involved." her father David told a
coroner yesterday.
Rebecca's partner of four years, Carlo Salamone, found
her body hanging at their townhouse in Addlestone,
Surrey.
The couple had argued about the taxi fare on their way
back from the wedding, the inquest heard, and Mr
Salamone had slept on the sofa when they had got home.
When he woke up and went upstairs to find his girlfriend,
he saw that their bed was still made and had not been slept
in. Walking up the second flight of stairs to the third floor,
Mr Salamone found his path blocked by a hanging figure.
Mr Salamone raced to get a phone and dialled 999 and
was directed through CPR lifesaving techniques, which he
carried out.
Police constable Stephen Ashley, who attended the scene
after 7am, said he found a body lying on the floor, still
wearing a "formal evening dress."
A post-mortem examination showed Rebecca had died as
a result of suspension, with a cause of death of hanging.
Toxicology tests showed she was double the drink driving
limit, with 162mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.
Mr Salamone said his partner had been "very happy" on
the day of the wedding, on November 8, 2013, and had
drunk vodka and coke but not seemed excessively drunk.
Taxi driver Khalik Meah said the couple had been arguing
when he gave them a lift back from the party some time
after midnight.
Asked whether the couple rowed a lot, Mr Salamone said
they would argue when they were drunk, but this was only
around once a month and this had been no worse than
normal.
"She was my life partner," the garage owner said. "That
evening at the wedding I had spoken to Jo's husband and
arranged the following summer in Dubai (where the
newlyweds lived) to ask Rebecca to marry me. "I wanted
to spend the rest of my life with her."
The counsellor had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes
when she was aged 25 years, the coroner heard, leaving
her reliant on insulin to regulate her blood sugar levels.
Her medication had made her put on weight, which Mr
Salamone said she worried about, weighing herself every
morning and evening.
Once, during a severe hypoglycaemic attack, she fell into a
coma which lasted four days and left her with minor
memory problems.
Her devastated father David said his daughter, who grew
up in Hertford before the family moved to Guildford,
Surrey, had been a perfectionist.
Rebecca's cousin Samantha Nash, 24, said she had seen
her in a state at about 10pm on the night of the wedding.
Miss Nash said: "She came to me and completely broke
down. Alarm bells went off.
"She was extremely upset. It was about how Carlo wasn't
there for her at home.
"She kept saying, 'Don't tell anyone Carlo's on drugs,
cocaine, don't tell anyone."
Coroner Richard Travers said: "The cause of Boo's
death was hanging. There was nothing at the scene to
suggest any third party involvement."
He ruled out a verdict of suicide, as he could not find any
clear intention, such as leaving a suicide note and Rebecca
had made plans to see friends and family for the coming
days.
"Consequently I conclude Rebecca died from self-inflicted
injuries but her intention was unclear," he said.
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