This story contains descriptions of mental health challenges and reference to sexual abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
The death of Addison Kelly has been ruled by the Coroner’s Court as a suicide, which was directly connected to the mental health illnesses which she had suffered from before she died.
Kelly was 16 years old when she died on 8 Feb. 2022.
During the hearing, which lasted the better part of three-and-a-half-hours, the jury was presented with evidence from a police officer, a paramedic, a handwriting expert, a pathologist, a psychiatrist, and Kelly’s family members and her best friend.
Collectively, the evidence showed that there was no other party involved in her death.
“It is my professional opinion that Addison took her life as a result of the borderline personality disorder, which was mostly likely connected to the post-traumatic stress disorder,” said counsellor Raquel Tobian, who began treating Kelly five weeks before her passing.
According to the evidence presented to the jury, Kelly’s trauma was directly linked to her being sexual assaulted between the ages of eight and ten years old. It was revealed that the matter was reported to the police, and the resulting investigation was closed with no arrests being made.
“If a person dies in car accident, we would say the injuries they sustained in the accident was how they died, but we would also say that the factors, such as speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or even careless or dangerous driving, which led to the accident, was what caused the person’s death,” said Rhonda Kelly, Addison’s mother.
She continued, “I believe the sexual abuse which led to the trauma, and borderline personality disorder, is what caused her to, in the end, take her own life.”
That belief was supported by Tobian, who concluded it is less likely that Addison Kelly would have developed borderline personality disorder had she not been sexually assaulted.
Mental health resources
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with issues similar to those raised by this article, there are resources available to help.
- In an emergency, call 911.
- Mental Health Helpline. Call 1-800-534-6463 (MIND) Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, to talk to the Mental Health Helpline, which was established during the pandemic to provide support.
- The Alex Panton Foundation. The non-profit’s primary objective is to raise “awareness of mental illnesses affecting children and young adults in the Cayman Islands with a particular focus on anxiety and depression”.
- Department of Children and Family Services. For non-critical services provided by DCFS, email [email protected] or call 949-0290 in Grand Cayman and 948-2331 in Cayman Brac, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm.
- The Cayman Islands Crisis Centre. Provides support to all victims of domestic violence through “services and programmes focusing on domestic and sexual abuse”. Among its services, it provides shelter, counselling, a 24-7 crisis helpline on 943-2422 and a kids’ helpline on 649-5437.
- There are also a number of private health care providers, offering counselling and support, such as Infinite Mind Care and the Wellness Centre.
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