Nicola Bulley’s former GP today told an inquest said there was ‘nothing’ in the mother of two’s medical records to suggest she was suicidal.
The 45-year-old vanished after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school, then taking her usual dog walk along the River Wyre in Lancashire, on January 27.
Her phone was found on a bench by the river, still connected to a work Teams call. It’s believed she would have drowned ‘in seconds’ due to the shock of entering a ‘freezing’ water.
Her doctor, Dr Rebecca Gray, appeared this morning at the second day of the inquest at County Hall, Preston to give evidence about her mental state.
‘There is nothing on the notes or records from 2012 where there’s been any mention of her feeling suicidal or of self harm,’ she said.
Mother-of-two Nicola Bulley, 45, vanished while walking her dog in Lancashire on January 27
Workers from Specialist Group International, a private underwater search and recovery company, on the River Wyre on February 6
Ms Bulley had spoken to Dr Gray about feeling a ‘low mood and anxiety’ since 2018, later telling of headaches, fatigue and lack of sleep.
On January 11, she attended a walk-in centre after a fall, complaining of increased drowsiness and vomiting.
She was sent to A&E where a CT scan came back normal, the inquest heard.
The first day of the inquest yesterday heard how Ms Bulley’s dog, Willow, was found at a bench near to a ‘cliff edge’ – making it almost impossible for anyone who had fallen in to get out without assistance.
Upon being told in a call that her phone and Willow were discovered, her partner Paul Ansell said: ‘She’s struggling, the inquest heard.
Retired care worker Susan Jones said at around 10am on January 27 she was called by Penny Fletcher who found Willow and the phone.
She then ran into Ms Fletcher’s daughter-in-law, referenced only as Anne-Marie, who recognised Ms Bulley from the phone’s lock screen photo.
Anne-Marie rang the local school as well as speaking to Mr Ansell – who had said ‘she’s struggling’. The mortgage adviser’s body was found more than three weeks later and just over a mile downstream.
As Mr Ansell, 44, and parents Dot and Ernie wiped away tears, a pathologist ruled out assault or foul play, saying she was alive when she entered the water.
Paul Ansell, Ms Bulley’s partner of 12 years, wiped away tears as he heard evidence about her death today
Two witnesses told the hearing they independently heard a brief scream coming from towards the river around the time she was last seen.
But the inquest was told a police timeline suggested it was likely she was already in the water at that point.
Ms Bulley vanished after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, in St Michael’s-on-Wyre, then taking her usual dog walk.
Just after 9.30am a local businesswoman found Willow ‘giddy’ and loose near the river.
Her phone, still connected to her morning Teams call, was found on a nearby bench. Hundreds of volunteers joined a police search, but with no sign of her body, amateur sleuths took to social media to spread outlandish theories.
Police faced criticism after revealing she had been experiencing ‘significant issues with alcohol’ brought on by her struggle with the menopause.
Her body was found on February 19 and identified by dental records.
At the inquest at County Hall in Preston, police diver PC Matthew Thackray said the riverbank at the point where Ms Bulley is believed to have vanished had a steep ‘cliff edge’ into the ‘freezing’ water.
Senior coroner Dr James Adeley asked: ‘If you were in the water trying to get a foothold, would it be possible?’ ‘Not at all,’ he answered.
Professor Michael Tipton, an expert on the effects of falling into cold water, said just two breaths underwater in the river – which was just 3.6C (38.5F) that day – would have been ‘the lethal dose for drowning’.
‘In my opinion, if Nikki fell into the water at the point we’ve seen, there’s a very good chance the first gasp would have occurred with her head under the water,’ he said.
Dr Patrick Morgan, medical director of HM Coastguard, told the hearing even if she had managed to gasp air before she went under, it was unlikely she could have held her breath for more than ten seconds.
Helen O’Neill, a nurse who lives close to the bench, said she heard a ‘scream’ on the morning of the disappearance.
Tennis coach Veronica Claesen heard a ‘very short scream’ at the same time. The inquest is set to conclude today.
