THE remains of a young woman were discovered in her flat, a year after she died.
Charlotte Leader, 23, was hailed as “beautiful and talented” by her devastated family, who had no idea of her death.
Tragically, police revealed that the only conversations they found on her phone were between her and ChatGPT, which she asked to “help her”.
A coroner said Charlotte’s flat was “immaculate” when police officers investigated, and there were no illicit drugs or anything to suggest suicide.
Neighbours said they never saw her leave her home in Bolton, and her sister Caroline Calow said she had a history of eating disorders.
Coroner Stephen Teasdale told Bolton Coroner’s Court that Charlotte had “suffered from mental health issues”.
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“In time, she becomes a stranger from the family, she pushes people away, and she disengages from the mental health services as well.”
Charlotte’s mum, Chantay Simm, said they had not heard from her since September 2021.
Despite searching tirelessly, her daughter was “impossible to find”.
Her family paid tribute on social media, writing: “Charlotte was a very beautiful and talented young woman.
“Her many talents were playing the guitar and keyboard and she also had a love for art.
“She was loved tremendously by the family and will be missed every day.”
Mrs Calow, who said her sister battled Bulimia for most of her life, added: “There was absolutely no medication in that flat whatsoever – it looked like someone who cared, it wasn’t the flat of someone who had given up.”
Mr Teasdale said that Charlotte had declined an appointment with mental health services in 2022 and had no contact with them after.
Officers found food in her fridge with sell-by dates of July 2024, and Mr Teasdale said that she had been “undiscovered for some period of time”.
Detective Inspector Paul Quinn looked at Charlotte’s phone and found a chat between her and ChatGPT.
The last message was dated July 30, 2024.
She had written: “Help me, I’ve went and got food again,” and it replied, “You sound conflicted about having food.”
Charlotte replied: “It’s food that I didn’t want and that’s frustrating.”
DI Quinn said: “There were others all in the same context – there’s no conversations with anybody, her only contact was with ChatGPT.”
Dr Andrew Coates, a pathologist at Royal Bolton Hospital, said it was a “difficult examination” because Charlotte’s body had become “mummified”.
He added that it was “not unreasonable” that this would take around a year to happen.
He also added that eating disorders can result in people becoming “dangerously underweight”, but was unable to determine if that was the cause of Charlotte’s death.
She was discovered by police officers who had been called to her flat to conduct a welfare check after Bolton at Home could not gain entry for a routine utility inspection.
Alarm bells started ringing after they noticed a “large volume of letters” behind the front door.
After accessing the flat, they found Charlotte in her bed under a duvet “as if she were sleeping”.
DI Quinn said the first-floor property was “sparsely furnished” and “immaculately clean”.
He said they found “no suggestion she intended to take her life, or anything to suggest she would do anything untowards”, but noted boxes of a detox cleanser were found.
Mr Teasdale closed the inquest with an “open” conclusion and paid his condolences to her family.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with a mental health problem, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together,www.headstogether.org.uk
- Beat (The UK’s Eating Disorder charity), www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk, 0808 801 0677
- HUMEN www.wearehumen.org
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans,www.samaritans.org, 116 123
