Foolish Woman Hangs Herself after Facing the "Three Most Stressful Things in Life"

A recovering drug addict hung herself after facing "three of the most stressful things in life" - ending a relationship, starting a new job and moving house.

Before her death, Shirley Jensen was jailed for six months after getting involved in drugs at the age of 18. When she was released after serving half her sentence, she vowed to get her life back on track. She eventually became teetotal at the age of 20 and went back to college to further her career and help others.

Miss Jensen moved to Manchester where she got a job as a PA before working as an office manager for her mother's company where colleagues said she was a ''dynamic and inspirational leader".

However, the 41-year-old charity fundraiser found herself unable to cope after she was forced to
switch jobs, split up with a boyfriend and move to a flat.

Her mother's company had closed down suddenly so Miss Jensen moved to a new job as an office manager with a property firm. According to MirrorUK, same time, her five-year relationship with her boyfriend Chris broke up. He moved out of their shared home and she was to move to a flat.

According to Miss Jensen's mother, Mrs Barber, days before her death; she, Shirley and nieces had attended a lantern parade where Shirley seemed upset but ‘not distraught’. Later when Mrs Barber left at 9.30pm she texted her daughter, saying ‘I hope you feel better’, and she replied she would, adding, ‘love you’.

But by 6pm two days later, she received a call from Shirley's friend that Shirley hadn’t been to work and there were concerns she had potentially had an accident.

Mrs Barber hurried to her daughter’s home but by the time she arrived, the police were already there. They broke into Miss Jensen's home and found her body and a note which said: “I’m sorry.”

Nearby was a book titled ‘Letting Go’, which contained advice on relationship boundaries following a separation.

A broken hearted Mrs Barber said:

 "I never found out why her relationship ended and I was saddened by the breakup. She was seeing a counsellor on a weekly basis. She didn’t try to keep it a secret but she didn’t discuss with me what it was regarding. She always seemed to find a solution by discussing things with close friends, reading self-help books and she had used other counsellors in the past. She always tried to find a positive solution to any problem she had. 

She said jokingly the three most stressful things that can happen to a person were all happening to her at the same time. She ended her relationship, started a new job and moved house. But she seemed to be taking it in her stride. She was enjoying the new job and the new challenge."

It emerged Miss Jensen had left her bills neatly placed on the table. Mrs Barber added:

“My belief was that she left that to help me to deal with her affairs after her death. She was even thoughtful at that traumatic time in her life.”

The coroner John Pollard recorded a verdict of suicide.