A 21-year-old woman killed herself after her allegations that she had been raped were dropped by prosecutors.

Marie Margison slashed her wrists and arms in the bathroom of her flat in Rochford after writing a message to her fiance in black felt tip pen on the wall which said: "Ian I love you. You're better off without me."

A verdict of suicide was recorded at an inquest into her death in Southend yesterday.

The inquest was told that Marie, who had spent several years in children's homes, had been raped twice before.

But following her allegations last year, the Crown Prosecution Service decided there was not enough evidence to bring charges.

On September 6 her fiance, Ian Bray, returned home to their flat in Leecon Way to find her slumped over the toilet, covered in blood.

She had cut her arms with what appeared to be a smashed glass tumbler and despite efforts by paramedics to revive her she was pronounced dead at Southend Hospital.

A post mortem investigation found that Marie had also drunk alcohol and had swallowed sleeping pills and antidepressants, although the exact cause of her death was severe blood loss, said consultant pathologist Dr Peter Atkinson.

In a written statement to the inquest, Mr Bray said: "The decision by the CPS was devastating for Marie and this is what tipped the balance."

Heather Brown, head of care at Whitefriars Children Home in Westcliff, said she had been with Marie when police told her the case had been dropped.

She said: "She was very, very upset. She felt she was not believed. She felt it was very unfair. They tried to tell her that they did believe her but she didn't understand."

Marie had a history of cutting herself, but she had never tried to take her own life before, said Ms Brown.

Coroner Dr Peter Dean said: "Hers was a very short, very troubled life.

"From the writing on the wall and the severity of the cuts in her arms it must appear that she both understood and intended the consequences of her actions."

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