Headmistress jumped from bridge one year after 14-year-old pupil’s identical suicide

A HEADMISTRESS jumped to her death from almost the same spot on the Humber Bridge where her pupil had killed himself a year before.

Jane Disbrey, 59, the head of Malet Lambert School, Hull, was tormented by chronic facial pain and chose to mimic the suicide of 14-year-old William Shaw.

An inquest heard the headmistress got her hair done at a salon before driving to the bridge on August 4.

The mother-of-two and leading light in local education circles – described by one pupil as having “a smile for everyone”– drove from her West Ella home to Hessle, where she left her Saab in the Humber Bridge car park.

A young couple, who had been travelling along the bridge, described how Mrs Disbrey appeared to look at them, before letting go of railings and falling.

Schoolboy William was found in a field on the Hessle Foreshore after he jumped from the same area of the Humber Bridge, on September 17, last year.

After William killed himself Mrs Disbrey said: “We are truly saddened by the sudden passing of William and offer our deepest sympathies to his family and friends at this time.

Mrs Disbrey’s husband Stephen told an inquest into her death she had suffered severe facial pain since August, last year.

“Jane always wanted an instant solution to the pain that she was in, but it was explained to her that it was a very difficult illness to treat,” said Mr Disbrey.

“She had told herself she would never get better.”

Mr Disbrey said they had not long returned from a holiday in France when she died.

He said: “I had no reason to doubt her when she said she was going to see a friend.

“It was only when I realised she had left some key personal items at home that I became concerned.”

In a statement, Emma Bradshaw, a counselling psychologist who saw her on June 20, said: “Her eyes felt like paper cuts every time she blinked. She said she had been off work for five weeks.

Professor Paul Marks, senior coroner for Hull and the EastRiding, recorded a narrative conclusion.

“She did not express any suicidal ideation on the last day of her life, but was seen to jump from the Humber Bridge on the 4th of August, 2015 after 6pm, and died instantaneously from multiple injuries sustained as a result of the fall.”

A statement from Malet Lambert School read: “Jane Disbrey created a culture of excellence and will be greatly missed.”

Source The Sun