Charity worker Jane Colechin was described as “loving, fiercely intelligent, vivacious and unfiltered” but behind the scenes was struggling with severe anxiety17:34, 21 May 2026Updated 17:48, 21 May 2026A mum-of-two took her life with a so-called ‘suicide kit’ delivered to her door via Royal Mail, an inquest heard.‌Charity worker Jane Colechin, 44, was described as “loving, fiercely intelligent, vivacious and unfiltered” but behind the scenes was struggling with severe anxiety. She was signed off from the charity where she worked after a project she was managing lost its funding.‌It led to her searching for a deadly chemical online, which she then had delivered to the home she shared with partner Sean Gleeson and their twin boys in Forest Gate, east London.‌In a statement, Det Con Sam Drury of the Metropolitan Police, said he and his team had been investigating the mother-of-two’s death as part of a wider investigation into the substance. At least five people are thought to have died after ordering the chemical online, including psychologist Zara Ampong-Appiah, who passed away in April last year.Det Con Drury told an inquest at East London Coroner’s Court: “I looked through her mobile phone for keywords relating to this (the substance) and found 1,360 instances of them between 1 December 2024 and 1 January 2025. She also went onto a website which provides information relating to suicide and the chemical as well as a Royal Mail tracking service for a parcel with the chemical.”Mr Gleeson had been staying with friends in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, for New Year’s Eve 2024. East London Coroner’s Court heard that Ms Colechin had insisted that he and the children go because she would have been “heartbroken” had the boys not seen their friends.‌When Mr Gleeson returned to the family home on January 1 he could not find his partner. He left his sons with a neighbour and searched the house, where he found Ms Colechin’s body in the basement. He called an ambulance, which arrived in three minutes, but Ms Colechin was dead.A toxicology report found that the chemical was present at 46,860 times higher than in a healthy fasted person.In a statement to the inquest, Mr Gleeson said he and Ms Colechin had spoken about being together for the rest of their lives. He told the court: “We had a great time. I couldn’t have wished for anything more. The boys had someone who understood their needs so well.”‌However she had struggled with her mental health since the birth of their twin sons Josh and Fred in 2017 and spent time in Homerton Hospital’s Mother and Baby unit. She recovered, but in early 2024 things took a turn for the worse after she and Mr Gleeson both contracted a virus which led to them suffering bouts of insomnia and, in Ms Colechin’s case, anxiety.Around that time she also suffered workplace stress, her sleep problems and anxiety developed and she was prescribed the anti-anxiety drug clonazepam.Mr Gleeson thought his partner was getting better, but she started experiencing further mental health issues later in the year, which were made worse by a growing dependency on benzodiazepines. She visited her GP a number of times in November and December and was referred to a psychologist.‌When her mental health took a further downturn on December 23, she tried to contact the Newham Home Treatment Team, where she had been referred, but was told that she would need to call 111.Coroner Nadia Persaud said that had the team been able to see Ms Colechin on December 23 it was “possible” rather than “probable” that her death may have been avoided.On December 30, she attended A&E at Newham Hospital with anxiety but was told she could not be seen due to the site’s psychiatrists only seeing people who had associated physical ailments.‌A nurse from Newham’s crisis team was able to drive her to the Community Integrated Mental Health Team, but when Ms Colechin said she wanted to see a doctor she was told she would have to wait several hours.Medical staff told the inquest that Ms Colechin had presented well, was articulate and denied suicidal thoughts, which meant she was not seen as a risk Instead, she made a same-day appointment with her GP’s surgery, with the doctor who saw her prescribing her an increase in medication.Ms Colechin held a doctorate in political science from the University of Birmingham and worked as a director for the Youth Futures Foundation, a charity which aims to help put young people into work. Part of her role was to advise the Department for Work and Pensions on youth employment.‌Following her death, CEO, Barry Fletcher, said: “Jane has been a massive part of Youth Futures since our inception and has been instrumental in shaping the organisation we are today. Jane’s passion, humour and infectious belief in the power of evaluation to change young people’s lives for the better came across in everything she did. She will be sorely missed.”Following Jane’s death, friends raised more than £7,000 to help Mr Gleeson. Friend Suzanne Hu described Jane as a “brilliant colleague and beautiful friend to so many of us. She added: “Her loss is huge, especially to Sean, Fred and Josh who are deeply grieving such an important figure in their lives.”Returning a conclusion of suicide due to her taking the chemical, coroner Nadia Persaud passed on the court’s condolences to Ms Colechin’s family and said that Mr Gleeson was “an amazing support” to his late partner.Article continues belowThe Royal Mail said it was a tragic case but said they are legally obligated not to open items. However, they do work closely with the police, Border Force and other agencies and will report any suspicious items to them.For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.