Mum found dead beside daughter, 8, was ‘socially isolated’ while caring for her, inquests hear
Inquests are continuing into the deaths of Martina Karos and eight-year-old Eleni Edwards
Martina Karos and her daughter Eleni Edwards(Image: Todd Fitzgerald)
A single mum found dead alongside her severely disabled child repeatedly reported feeling ‘socially isolated’ due to her caring responsibilities, inquests into their deaths have heard. Martina Karos, 40, and her eight year-old daughter Eleni Edwards were discovered in a bedroom at their home in Kersal, Salford by emergency services who forced entry on September 23, 2024.
The alarm was raised when Eleni – cared for by her mum full time – didn’t turn up for school. Their deaths were declared by paramedics at the scene, with pathologists later concluding they died as the result of ‘carbon monoxide toxicity’.
Joint inquests into Eleni and Martina’s deaths are underway at Bolton Coroners’ Court. On the second day of proceedings, the court was told Martina had been dealing with anxiety and depression for a number of years. The court heard details of the treatment and support offered to her.
Martina’s GP, Dr Dominic Morris from the Langworthy Medical Practice in Salford, told the hearing she had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression. She was first prescribed anti-depressants in October 2019, he said.
Dr Morris said, in his view, ‘the root cause was really social isolation… being a full-time carer for a severely disabled child’. He said that during his first consultation with Martina in September 2023, she said she ‘didn’t have many friends in the area’.
The hearing was told she would regularly ‘ask professionals to join their social circles’. Dr Morris said she was referred to ‘social prescribing’ services, but that she said she found them ‘difficult to engage with’. The GP said they discussed hobbies and sports, but Martina ‘wasn’t keen on that idea’.
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info
Dr Morris said he tried Martina on two anti-depressant medications, but she ‘still struggled with low mood’. He said that in November 2023, he received an email from a social worker expressing concern about the ‘risk of emotional harm upon Eleni if support was not increased’.
Police at the family’s home(Image: PA)
That, he said, led him to refer Martina to the community mental health team. An initial referral to a service which deals with people with acute mental illness was rejected, he said. Martina was instead referred to Living Well – a service that helps people with ‘moderate and long standing’ mental health difficulties.
Dr Morris said that at the beginning of December, he received an email from a social worker saying Martina had been ‘talking about harming herself’ and expressing concern over a ‘lack of emotional warmth shown from Martina to her daughter’. The court previously heard a child protection plan was put in place around that time.
The doctor said that during a consultation on December 7, he was so concerned about Martina’s mental state he rang for an ambulance. “She seemed more despondent… more desperate,” he said, adding that she reported feeling ‘isolated, hopeless and very pessimistic’.
Dr Morris said that when he asked her about suicidal thoughts, she was ‘quite evasive in her answers and that heightened [his] concern’. He said he thought the ‘safest option’ was to call for paramedics. Martina chose not to go to hospital, the court heard.
Dr Morris said that by April of 2024 her mood ‘wasn’t completely resolved, but that it had certainly improved since December’. He said that by the time of his last consultations with Martina – in June, July and August 2024 – her mood was ‘stable’ and that she denied having suicidal thoughts ‘in the last few months’ before her death.
The doctor said he asked Martina if she had ever had thoughts of harming Eleni. He told the court: “It’s obviously a difficult question to ask… but I thought it was important to ask nonetheless.” She said she had no such thoughts, the court heard.
“The one thing I couldn’t influence, and was a common theme, was the degree of social isolation and no partner,” Dr Morris added. “Those things I couldn’t change.”
Article continues below
The doctor said prescription requests suggested Martina was taking her medication, but there was a ‘degree of having to trust the patient when they say they are compliant’. Area coroner Pete Sigee said he had noted that her medication was not found in her system during toxicology tests.
Martina, the court heard, was discharged from Living Well in June. She eventually stopped engaging with staff there. Community recovery worker Jackie Murray said: “Her low mood was due the fact she had no friends – she felt a bit stuck – and that made her anxious.”
She said Martina felt a ‘sense of loss’ after a relationship ended as she ‘felt she was better parent whilst she was in a relationship’. Ms Murray said Martina told her she ‘wanted a boyfriend or to make new friends’. She said she ‘never really talked about her mental health’ and focused on ‘things that would improve her life and which would make her life easier’.
Flowers outside the property following the tragedy(Image: )
She said Martina ‘never talked about suicide’ and that she had ‘no concerns’ about her harming herself or others. “She loved her daughter and talked about her in sessions,” she said, adding that a colleague who saw them together said she was ‘amazing’ with Eleni. Ms Murray said that when she asked Martina her about suicidal thoughts ‘she would always say she was okay’.
She said Martina was offered, or made aware of, numerous activities and community groups to help with social interaction, but that it appeared she ‘wanted [her] as a friend’ instead.
Article continues below
Hayley Foster, a senior mental health nurse on the Living Well team who spoke to Martina before she was discharged, said she made it clear she ‘didn’t want to engage any further’. She said she believed she ‘didn’t present with severe depression’ and that there was ‘no reason for [her] to escalate it any further’.
Faye Fenton, operations manager at ALCEDO Care, which was commissioned by Salford council to provide care for Eleni, said there were ‘some difficulties’ at points as Martina ‘would express loneliness and professional boundaries would be crossed’.
She said that included ‘asking for personal numbers, asking for personal Facebook, going through personal Facebooks and asking if they had any single friends’.