'Nothing' in medical records to suggest Nicola Bulley was suicidal, GP tells inquest

Nicola Bulley's former GP has told the inquest into her death there was "nothing" to suggest she was suicidal.

Nikki, as she's known by her family, vanished after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school before taking her usual dog walk along the River Wyre in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire in February.

Her phone, which was still connected to a work Teams call, was found on a bench overlooking the water.

Her body was found in the river around a mile farther downstream from the bench, on 19 February.

Dr Rebecca Gray says Nikki was given a beta blocker called propranolol in February 2019 after presenting with low mood and anxiety.

Dr Gray said that Nikki presented with hot flushes and hadn’t had her period as she expected for a number of months.

She said: "We discussed that this could be menopause, so we arranged a blood test to check for her hormone levels.

"Both tests show consistent with being post menopausal."

Dr Gray and Nikki discussed options around HRT.

She added that Nikki was offered help with her mental health but she preferred to see how things with her work settled down.

Dr Gray said: "There is nothing on the notes or records from 2012 where there’s been any mention of her feeling suicidal or of self harm."

On 11 January 2023, Nikki was seen at Fleetwood walk in centre following a fall which led to an injury to the back of her head.

She was complaining of increased drowsiness - and was directed to A&E. She had a CT head and that was normal.

Theresa Lewis Leevy, a mental health clinician said she went to see Nicola Bulley on 10 January 2023, just weeks before she went missing.

She said Nikki’s sister, Louise Cunningham, called the mental health team and asked for some assistance with her sister.

The family were worried about her increased alcohol usage and were looking for support around this, the court heard.

The court heard that Nikki had "not wanted to engage with the children" and “not wanted to be here” but the meaning was unclear.

Ms Lewis Leevy says she arrived at the families address, and was met by her partner Paul Ansell and Nikki’s sister Louise Cunningham. They discussed what support they could offer.

Ms Leevy, said Nikki was "appropriately dressed" and "appeared to be intoxicated".

She says she tried to engage Nikki in conversation around her alcohol - around her appetite and her weight.

Ms Lewis Leevy says the interaction was quite brief.

Nikki was advised to go and see the GP the next day but she said she couldn’t as she was sorting her mortgage out.

Ms Lewis Leevy says Nikki's partner Paul Ansell said that wasn't an issue and wasn't being done the following day.

However, when asked if she appeared depressed, Ms Lewis Leevy said: “No, no, not that I could ascertain at the time.”

Nicola Bulley’s sister cried as she spoke during the inquest.

Louise Cunningham said: “Nikki was my big sister…very much a planner.

“She started her career again, a busy mum, as most people are, juggling a career and family life.

“She always had things under her control.”

The coroner asked Ms Cunningham if Nikki had had any suicidal thoughts or if she would leave Willow alone in a field.

“Absolutely not”, Ms Cunningham replied.

“There is no way she would leave Willow unattended by choice”.

Louise Cunningham says she was “worried about” Nicola which is why she phoned an ambulance for her. She told the court her sister reduced her alcohol use after that and went “back to normal.”

“She had a blip over Christmas (2022) but she was back on the HRT medication in January and back to work and back to the normal Nikki.”

On 26 January, the day before Nikki went missing, they had discussed booking a spa day. Ms Cunningham says texted Nikki to confirm it was booked but she “never picked up the message.”

Nikki's partner Paul Ansell said that the week before she went missing, Nikki was “doing good”, and she was getting back into her work.

He said: “She had worked so hard, passing her exams. She spent most of last year doing a lot of hard work to build the business up and see the rewards of that.

"She was excited about how it was looking”

“She had a good day before (she went missing), came home full of beans and excited about how the rest of the year was looking. She had meetings planned that morning and later that afternoon.

“She was up ready to go and for the day ahead. Everything was in a good place. It was just a normal morning."

Mr Ansell said that they would take the harness off Willow the dog because she is very erratic and goes into the bushes when on a walk.

He added: "Every Friday morning Nikki has this conference call she logs into on her phone.

"She must have put the phone on the bench to carry on listening to it and gone to put the harness back on Willow."

Mr Ansell said there were "no indications of self-harm or suicide" that he saw and that she had "stopped drinking".

Mr Ansell told the court there were a couple of throwaway comments in her "blip period" but nothing that "gave me any concern", he said.

He said Nikki was an "incredible mum" and that her daughters were her "absolute world".

The family barrister, reading from Mr Ansell's written statement said: "Nikki was a quiet person who enjoyed the simpler side of life. She was a very private person and kept herself to herself.

"She was grateful for every day. She focused on the important things and did the right thing by everyone.

"She was well respected by all who knew her."

Mr Ansell said that everyone who met Nikki "instantly loved her".

Mr Ansell got very emotional towards the end of his testimony. He then started crying and was led out of the courtroom for a short break before returning.

Nikki's parents, Dot and Ernest Bulley also gave testimony.

Her Dad Ernest Bulley said: "There was nothing [about the night before she went missing] about Nikki that gave me any concerns."

He said Nikki was elated about a new business deal she had reached.

Mr Bulley said: "As a child, she was lovely. A little ballerina, she always danced around in her tutu. As a teenager she never got into any trouble.

"She was a great, daughter, sister, mother. We couldn't ask any more from her."

Nikki's Mum Dot said “everything was normal” the day before her daughter died.

Dorothy Bulley, who cried while giving evidence at the inquest, said she picked up Ms Bulley’s daughters from school on 26 January, and looked after them that evening.

She said: “We sorted the girls out and everything was normal.”

On Monday 26 June, Preston County Hall heard that Nicola Bulley would likely have been struggling within "two breaths" of falling into an icy river.

The court also told that a scream was heard in the village around the time she went missing.

The family’s barrister Sophie Cartwright KC asked the coroner for an “accidental death” conclusion.

She argued that the phone evidence, post mortem, eye witnesses and expert accounts point to Nikki’s death being an accident.

She said: “There has been much rumour, suspicion and speculation.

“The family are of the view that that has been allayed by the evidence. The family are comforted by the evidence that Nikki’s death would have been very soon after she entered the water.”

She said: “Nicola Bulley, on the balance of probabilities, died in the river due to an accidental death.”