How I extended our traditional court patch and got a grieving family on-side

The story of a 16-year-old Rainham girl’s suicide told by her grieving mum

Back in March 2019 I was the first ever EssexLive reporter to be dispatched to Walthamstow Coroner’s Court. While on occasions we had covered breaking news in east London, we had never attended an inquest there.

Story link: The story of a 16-year-old Rainham girl’s suicide told by her grieving mum

Who was Lauren Pinnock and what was her story?

Lauren was a 16-year-old girl from Rainham, who was found dead in a garage by her mother Laura, on September 11, 2018. On Friday, March 1, 2019 Lauren’s inquest was held at Walthamstow Coroner’s Court. After hearing the evidence, coroner Nadia Persaud rose for a short period before delivering her conclusion of suicide.

While the court hadn’t imposed restrictions on media coverage, I was mindful of the ethical considerations attached to the reporting of suicide.

To ensure I complied with clause five of the Editors’ Code of Practice I didn’t disclose the specific item which Lauren used to take he own life. I believe the publication was handled sensitively and I approached, and communicated with, Lauren’s family with the upmost sympathy and discretion, as stated in clause four of the code.

How I got Lauren’s grieving mum on-board:

Before the hearing, I politely introduced myself to Lauren’s family, who were sat anxiously in the waiting area. After the hearing, I expressed my sincere condolences to Laura and her family. Despite Laura’s heightened emotions, I managed to calmly explain exactly what I would and wouldn’t be reporting, which seemed to put her mind at rest. I suggested that if she was comfortable speaking to me at a later date we could work on an awareness piece focusing on mental health and teenage suicide. Laura was very keen on the idea so we exchanged contact details.

To avoid putting any unnecessary pressure on the grieving family I waited for Laura to contact me. The following day, Saturday, March 2, 2019 she telephoned me. For around an hour she opened up about some of the darkest, most challenging times in both her and Lauren’s life. On more than one occasion I paused and reassured Laura when her emotions were running high, but we got through it and Laura was very pleased with the publication.

How well it did for our site: 

The article did really well for our online audience, reaching more than 50,000 people and over 12,000 engagements on Facebook, where it was shared almost 400 times. The publication generated 30,000 page views and had an average engagement time of three minutes and five seconds, making it a HIA.

The article was syndicated and republished in a number of national titles. It featured on The Mirror’s ‘Top Stories’ banner for at least a day, and generated 37,558 page views for their site. The Daily Mail and The Sun also re-published the story.

How covering Lauren’s inquest extended our traditional court patch:

Following my successful coverage of Lauren’s inquest, we now attend Walthamstow Coroner’s Court on a regular basis. Over the last year, myself and a number of my colleagues have reported both full inquests and inquest openings from the east London Court. Despite it not being our traditional court patch, cases covering deaths in areas such as Romford and Dagenham have done well on our site, showing that our audience’s interest extends beyond the geographical borders of Essex.