UK: Rape claim woman commits suicide after alleged abuser files criminal complaint against her

A woman taken to court for allegedly making a false rape claim has killed herself ahead of the trial.

Eleanor de Freitas, 23, apparently feared she would not be believed after her alleged abuser went on to lodge the criminal complaint against her, an inquest has heard.

She left a note describing her decision to end her life as "selfish," but said she could not face the possibility of losing the case since it would "bring shame on the family."

She was found dead on 4 April, 2014. A pathology report recorded the cause of death as hanging.

The coroner in the matter Chinyere Inyama said the impending court case was "a significant stressor in her life".

Facing charges of perverting the course of justice, the trainee accountant said she felt there was no way out of her ordeal. In the suicide note, Ms Freitas said she felt "ashamed to be British" after the CPS decision to prosecute her. She told her legal team before the trial that "it would be better if I had been run over by a bus".

The former A grade student, who suffered with bipolar disorder, had previously been sectioned under the Mental Health Act. She told her family she feared being readmitted to psychiatric care.

Ms de Freitas' father, David, said she had been abused mentally and physically during her previous stay in hospital. After leaving hospital, she was received counselling support, but this was withdrawn in the months leading up to her death following the decision to prosecute her.

He said: "She had been receiving counselling for rape. But she was denied access to counselling from the moment she received summons (for perverting the course of justice).

"Her behaviour changed. In some instances it made her depressed. In other respects it made her bizarre."

Speaking at the hearing, he revealed that his daughter began wearing a burka to court appearances fearing publicity, and would sometimes only leave the house after dark.

She was reported to have suffered a panic attack on the day she received a court summons, and later was found throwing packets of crisps in the aisles of a supermarket in September 2013.

On 23 December, 2013, Ms de Freitas drove to Northamptonshire to spend Christmas with her family but took a wrong turn on the A1 and continued driving until she ran out of fuel, the inquest was told.

Her father said: "Eleanor was a very good driver, she had driven that route many times. She must have gone through something very traumatic as to be as disoriented and do what she did."

Ms de Freitas had earlier expressed concerns that her alleged abuser would be free to re-offend if he was not brought to justice.