Female bouncer, 21, hanged herself two years after being lured by friend to flat where she was ambushed by all-girl gang in savage ‘happy slap’ attack
- Aimee Purdey was assaulted in an attack masterminded by her ex-girlfriend
- She suffered with depression and anxiety for two years after the attack in 2018
- Aimee, 21, died at Manchester hotel last year after texting girlfriend ‘I’m sorry’
- If you are struggling, please call Samaritans on 116 123
A bouncer hanged herself two years after her ex-girlfriend lured her back to a flat where she was ambushed by an all-girl gang in a savage ‘happy slap’ attack.
Aimee Purdey was found dead at a Manchester hotel room last March after struggling with anxiety and depression as a result of an attack that left her fearful of leaving the house in 2018.
An inquest heard she had previously attempted to take her own life, but a coroner did not give a verdict of suicide.
In a narrative ruling, coroner Fiona Borrill said: ‘It appears that Aimee was an impulsive person and I believe it is possible she hoped that she was going to be discovered.’
In January 2018 her ex-girlfriend Simone McDermott then 19, lured Aimee to her apartment at 1am on the pretext of needing a shoulder to cry on – only for the victim to be violently ambushed by McDermott and three female friends who filmed the attack.
This week the inquest in Manchester made no mention of the assault but was told Miss Purdey had been suffering from severe mental difficulties and previously attempted to take her own life.
She was found dead in her room after booking into the New Union Hotel in Manchester’s Gay Village following a night out with friends.
Aimee Purdey, 21, was found dead at a Manchester hotel room last March after struggling with anxiety and depression as a result of an attack that left her fearful of leaving the house
Aged 18, Miss Purdey suffered a brutal attack at the hands of her ex-girlfriend and her friends, which saw her stamped on the head and repeatedly punched. The entire attack was filmed on one of the attacker’s phones
As Miss Purdey then 18, curled up in a ball and begged: ‘Let me go, please let me go,’ McDermott and the other girls laughed as they rained down kicks and punches whilst one filmed the assault on her mobile phone.
In the two minute video, one the attackers could be heard shouting: ‘Giver her here – I’ll have a go’ whilst another said: ‘I’m gonna break your face.’
Miss Purdey was left with multiple bruising to her head and body and underwent a CT scan in hospital after doctors found a footprint on her forehead. One of her finger nails was so badly damaged in the assault, it fell off her finger.
The following year McDermott and her friends Melissa Marriott, of Blackley, Siobhan Wait, also of Blackley, and Victoria Houghton, of Wythenshawe, who are all 19 avoided jail after admitting to assault with intent to rob.
At the time Miss Purdey from Royton, Oldham said: ‘I thought they wanted to kill me – I could have died. I had a lot of pain with my injuries and I was unable to leave my room for two to three weeks – when I did go out I had to have someone with me.
The brutal attack on Aimee was organised by her ex-girlfriend, Simone McDermott, who lured Aimee back to her home
In the two minute video, one the attackers could be heard shouting: ‘Giver her here – I’ll have a go’ whilst another said: ‘I’m gonna break your face.’
Miss Purdey was left with multiple bruising to her head and body and underwent a CT scan in hospital. Two years on she would take her life in a hotel room in Manchester
‘I’ve started getting shopping delivered to my house and I feel unsure going to the shops as I might bump into Simone McDermott and her friends. I didn’t think they were sorry for what they did.
‘I couldn’t work or do anything and I didn’t feel safe or have the confidence to. The assault made me feel paranoid in relationships. When friends arrange to meet me I think I’m going to get hurt and ‘I am on medication in relation to my anxiety.
‘The feeling of being attacked by someone I cared about and who I thought cared about me had left me feeling really betrayed. I was so distressed I couldn’t sleep. I am frustrated to be made to feel a victim by this girl. I don’t want to feel weak and have these feeling hanging over me.
‘This has affected everything in life and I think about the assault every single day, it’s the first thing I think about when I wake up and when I go to sleep, I have dreams about being attacked and having things stolen from me.’
In a statement heard at the inquest into Miss Purdey’s death, Det Ch Insp Mark Astbury of Greater Manchester Police, said: ‘She had been out for the evening in Manchester and a hotel room was booked for the night.
Aimee told a court she had nightmares about being attacked following the brutal assault. Pictured: Siobhan Wait, one of the gang who attacked her also of Blackley
Melissa Marriott, of Blackley avoided a prison sentence along with all the other attackers, after admitting to assault with intent to rob
As Miss Purdey then 18, curled up in a ball and begged: ‘Let me go, please let me go,’ McDermott and the other girls laughed as they rained down kicks and punches. Pictured: Victoria Houghton, another of Amy’s attackers
‘She and her friends went back to the hotel 3.50am where they had something to eat and her friends left at about 5.15am.
‘During the course of being in the hotel room, Aimee had been messaging her then-girlfriend who called police after receiving a message in the early hours saying, “I’m sorry”. Officers attended but Aimee was already deceased.
‘Aimee had made threats in regard to taking her own life and there had been issues in regard to self-harm, suicidal thoughts and suicide during the previous year. A recent relationship break-down had left her feeling unwell.
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust said staff had helped Aimee between August 2019 and January 2020 following an overdose of diazepam medication. She was due to see a psychiatrist in June 2020.
Miss Purdey’s father David Purdey said: ‘At the time of her death, I felt Aimee was getting on with her life and she was loving her job and that she was considering going back to college to do a hairdressing course.
‘She seemed happy, and her depression was at bay. I just wished that you had known about Aimee’s other attempt to end her life.’
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust said staff had helped Aimee between August 2019 and January 2020 following an overdose of diazepam medication. She was due to a psychiatrist in June 2020 – three months after her death
Her mother Jennifer Purdey said: ‘She had had some relationship difficulties around September 2019 and that that caused some considerable distress to her.;
Recording a narrative conclusion, assistant coroner Miss Fiona Borrill said: ‘Aimee had been out drinking with her friends over the course of the evening.
She had been distressed by a previous relationship breakdown and she was also very impulsive, and before had made the decision on impulse to overdose in January 2020.
‘She had been drinking in the course of the evening but it is difficult to know if that had any effect on what she decided to do. She was in a hotel room and was on her own. She had been in contact with her then-girlfriend and said, “I’m sorry” and the hotel room was locked.
‘It appears that Aimee was an impulsive person and I believe it is possible she hoped that she was going to be discovered. She was a young woman who clearly had a lot to live for and plans for the future, and it’s desperately sad that her life has ended in this way.’
- If you are struggling, please call Samaritans on 116 123
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