A Chelmsford woman who fell to her death two weeks before Christmas from a multi-storey car park had suffered from severe depression and was undergoing psychiatric treatment at the Linden Centre in Broomfield.

Two police detectives administered first aid to Mrs Dawn Crass, of Cypress Drive, but she was certified dead on arrival by ambulance at Broomfield Hospital, an inquest at Shire Hall, Chelmsford, heard last week.

Mrs Crass fell into Cornhill, the walkway beside Chelmsford Market, hitting a canopy before landing on the pavement and suffering multiple injuries on December 9.

Assistant deputy coroner Mrs Caroline Beasley-Murray, who recorded an open verdict, heard Mrs Crass had a history of anxiety and depression and over the years threatened to take her own life, but despite this nobody really knew how earnest she was.

Mr Anthony Crass said that after his wife's death a professional carpet fitter's knife was found in a drawer at her room at the Linden Centre.

He said: "I think if they had found the knife they would have seen my wife in a different light, as a high risk factor."

Mr Crass wondered why his wife was allowed to leave the Centre on the morning she fell to her death.

If the carpet knife had been taken from a fitter was it reported missing and a subsequent search undertaken, he asked.

He knew his wife "hated" ECT (Electro Convulsive Treatment) and may have been concerned that she would have to undergo it again.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Craig Anderson said Mrs Crass was admitted to the Linden Centre on June 21, 1999, after taking an overdose.

"We knew Mrs Crass did not like ECT, but we felt we had to do something . . . she was depressed and psychotic," he said.

Dr Anderson said Mrs Crass's condition was not getting better and she was wishing to die, but he felt this reflected her feelings rather than suicidal tendencies.

Staff nurse Gerwyn Dale-Davies said he gave Mrs Crass permission to leave the Centre when told she wanted to buy some toiletries.

Mrs Crass seemed happy and stable and he thought she was going to nearby Broomfield Hospital to purchase items from its own shop.

Instead, Mrs Crass bought a return ticket and caught a bus to Chelmsford town centre, said Coroner's Officer PC Derek Sewell.

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