Tributes paid to ‘bubbly, lovely’ 19-year-old who died at home in Hastings

Jordan Kilden, a student living on High Street who was described as a ‘bubbly, lovely person’ by her grandparents, was found dead on April 12 last year, an inquest heard.

An inquest at Eastbourne Town Hall on Thursday (February 25) heard Ms Kilden had a history of mental health problems including depression and schizophrenia.

Ms Kilden was also suffering from gender dysphoria and was identifying as a male prior to her death, the inquest heard.

Ms Kilden’s grandparents Sue and Robert Kilden said they raised Ms Kilden from when she was three-weeks-old. They said she could be the ‘life and soul of a room’ but ‘she was often in crisis’.

Mr and Mrs Kilden said, “When she was on a high she could be very confident but she was very complicated. She just wanted to be loved.”

East Sussex coroner Alan Craze said, “She went through every kind of trouble a teenager could go through.”

The inquest heard blood tests from Ms Kilden found high levels of antidepressants and a beta blocker used to treat anxiety in her system, the inquest heard.

Candy Bryan, the lead practitioner for Ms Kilden, said she had been seen for her mental health problems and had transitioned from five years with children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to adult mental health care in the last year of her life.

A serious incident report lead by Lorraine Biddle found there had been three areas where things could have been improved in terms of Ms Kilden’s treatment, the inquest heard.

The report said the transfer from CAMHS to adult care is expected to see improvements as it is a ‘highly stressful time’ for the individual so needs to be focused on more.

More emphasis will be put on individual care plans and risk assessments, according to the report. In Ms Kilden’s case the report said more reference should have been made to her history of medication compliance, the inquest heard.

Finally the report said more care would be given to the carers of the individual, something welcomed by Ms Kilden’s grandparents.

Sue Kilden said, “I needed help and didn’t know how to cope with it. Emotions are involved as a carer and these emotions can sometimes cause you to make the wrong decision so training would have been welcomed.

“I’m very pleased to hear those changes are coming, I’m glad it’s been noticed and something is being done about it. It’s comforting to know Jordan’s death has not been in vain.”

Mr Craze ruled that Ms Kilden took her own life and called the case ‘very tragic’.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, the Samaritans may be able to help - the charity’s helpline number is 116 123.

• Jordan was referred to as ‘she’ throughout the inquest which the Herald covered, so we have used that pronoun, although Jordan was identifying as a male before his death.