‘Beautiful’ English teacher, 32, killed herself after struggling to cope with being dumped by her boyfriend
Katie Humpage was found by her worried parents after they struggled to contact her
A "POPULAR and beautiful" English teacher killed herself after struggling to cope with being dumped by her boyfriend, an inquest has heard.
Katie Humpage, 32, was discovered by her devastated parents at her house on July 26 - just days into the start of the school holidays.
An inquest into her death heard her partner of two years Joe Clarke had recently broken up with her "out of the blue" after returning from a holiday together.
The inquest was told she struggled to come to terms with the split from her boyfriend, who she met while working at South Wolverhampton and Bilston Academy.
Her step-father Lee Horney, 50, said Katie "didn't see any point in carrying on" because she only wanted a life with Joe.
Paramedics were called when her mum Tracey, 53, and Lee let themselves into her property with a spare key after becoming worried that they could not contact her.
They found her "grey in colour" having hanged herself in the upstairs bedroom of the West Midlands property.
Despite the best efforts of medics she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Recording a verdict of suicide Black Country coroner Zafar Saddique said: "The reason her boyfriend gave for leaving her was he did not see a long-term future together.
"She did not understand why and this appears to be the reason for her break down.
"The break up affected her quite badly and she had good days and bad days at the time.
"She used a ligature to hang herself. My conclusion is that she took her own life.
"I would like to express my condolences to the family.
"Sadly we will never know exactly what was going on in her life at the time."
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Black Country Coroners Court heard how Katie's mum had spoken to her on the phone the day she died and was worried about what she had said.
Giving evidence, Mrs Horney said: "She said that she was just existing and couldn't see the point.
"She just wanted the life with Mr Clarke."
Her parents left her to "cool off" that afternoon but when Katie hadn't replied by 5.30pm they began to worry and went over to the house where she lived alone.
Mr Horney said: 'We went to the house. It was in darkness. We had a spare key so we went to let ourselves in.
"But she had the key in the lock on the inside of the door.
"But I managed to get the door unlocked and went upstairs to her bedroom. That's where I found her."
The court heard that Katie had been admitted to hospital in June after taking an overdose of paracetamol tablets.
She was seen by a doctor when she was discharged and had been "deeply regretful" of taking the overdose.
She went back to work and Mr Horney said she seemed to be getting better.
He added: "She had her good days and her bad days.
"She would text her mum and me and other family members. Some days she was fine but other days she was really upset.
";The boyfriend had ended the relationship out of the blue. They had been together for two years. She never got over it.
"She said she was upset that it had happened and she didn't see any point in carrying on."
In a statement read out in court, Mr Clarke said he had ended the relationship because he could not see a future in it.
Mr Clarke's statement said: "Katie sent me a message on Whatsapp the next day saying: 'have we made the right decision?' I replied: 'Yes.'
"She didn't understand the reason why we'd finished."
After taking the overdose Katie messaged Mr Clarke again.
Mr Clarke added: "The last contact we had with each other was when she sent me a message on Whatsapp.
"She said I wasn't the reason why she had tried to self harm that time.
"At no point in our whole relationship did I ever think she would kill herself."
The court heard that Katie had no issues at work and was not in financial trouble.
NHS nurse Christina Ward, from Walsall Manor Hospital, who treated Katie, said she had not expressed any wish to end her life.
She said: "Katie said her partner dumping her had been a shock as they had been on holiday just two days before.
"She said she did not want to die. She stated that she had had no suicidal thoughts.”
At the time of her death colleagues paid tribute to a "passionate" and "dedicated" teacher.
Principal Kerry Inscker said: "Miss Humpage was an exceptionally talented teacher and leader who was very highly regarded by staff and students.
"She was passionate about teaching English and was dedicated to her students, she had a hugely positive impact on us all.
"Katie was a beautiful and elegant young woman, her loss is very deeply felt at SWB Academy."
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