He said he was 'extremely concerned' that Helen Tarry was able to leave without being seen
The partner of a woman who died after walking out of a secure Nottinghamshire mental health unit says he "fell apart" when her body was found. Helen Tarry's body was discovered on a farm track near Calverton on Boxing Day in 2022, the morning after leaving the Priory Hospital Arnold.
He described how Ms Tarry, a system support officer for Nottinghamshire County Council, had started to shred paperwork and hide items around their house before eventually moving in with her mum. She also became convinced her phone had been hacked and called police on several occasions. Mr Mather recalled his partner looking "angry and tense" when he visited her two days later. "I was devastated by how much her symptoms had worsened," he said. "Staff thought I could be a trigger and advised me not to visit for a while."
When learning she had left, he quickly returned to join the search at the hospital, where he said he was told that patients often walked out and then return, by one member of staff. “I walked through the woods with a torch shouting Helen's name, it was dark, cold and I was scared," he said.