Judge's daughter, 16, who was a 'top physics student' killed herself after buying Death Row execution drug online

The teenage daughter of a crown court judge killed herself after scouring suicide websites then drinking a lethal drug she ordered on the internet.
Isobel Narayan, 16, bought a drug used to kill patients by lethal injection on Death Row after suffering a ‘mini crisis of confidence’ a month before her death.
But her father, Harry Narayan, 66, told an inquest that Isobel, a top student who was suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder, had seemed to be ‘back on track’ after talking to her school tutor.

Tragic: Isobel Narayan, 16, killed herself with a drug bought over the internet. She was found dead in her bedroom at the family home

Mr Narayan said: ‘There was absolutely nothing which indicated that there was a problem.’
Then, on the morning of December 18, 2011, Isobel’s mother Anne,  56, discovered her youngest  daughter dead in her bunk bed  at their £400,000 home, in West  Didsbury, Manchester.

The couple tried to resuscitate Isobel, a keen horse rider who wanted to become a vet, but she was pronounced dead in hospital.

Upsetting: Harry Narayan told of his doomed attempt to save the life of his 16-year-old daughter

A post-mortem examination and toxicology tests revealed a significant amount of the drug in her blood. There were no drugs or alcohol in her system other than the substance, which she had drunk with mouthwash.
Police examined her computer and discovered that in late October Isobel had begun reading online forums and researching how terminally ill patients could end their own lives.
They also found a typed a list of reasons why she should end her life.
At around the same time, the drug was sent to the family home from either America or China.
Mr Narayan, a barrister who sits as a crown court recorder and a part-time immigration judge in Manchester, said he was at a loss to understand why his daughter, known as ‘Bel’, would take her own life.
He said: ‘Bel was a top student  in physics. The only thing she  complained about was not getting enough homework.’
The inquest heard Isobel had moved to Xaverian College, Manchester, to start her A-levels in September 2011.
She appeared to be doing well but unexpectedly took a week off school in November. Mr Narayan said: ‘When she was off I was asking, “are you pregnant or being bullied” and she said “no”.’
He said Isobel spoke to one of her tutors because there was some concern about how she was coping and ‘a few tears were shed’. But the following week she returned to school and ‘it was business as usual for the family’.

Difficult day: Freya Narayan, right, the sister of Isobel, is pictured leaving Manchester Coroners court

Recording a verdict of suicide, coroner Nigel Meadows said: ‘Isobel had a mini crisis of confidence.
‘There was no clue or indication of what was going through her mind.  It’s a strange time of life for teenagers; hormones are raging, there are pressures which we do not recognise when we’re older, and on occasion they do harm themselves.’
Mr Meadows said he would write to the Government’s Chief Pharmaceutical Officer about stopping young people from acquiring lethal drugs on the internet.

Awful: This image shows the family home in Didsbury, Manchester. Isobel was found dead by her devastated parents in her bedroom

Grieving: Harry Narayan, beige coat, said there had been nothing which indicated his daughter was having problems

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