Schoolgirl, 16, went missing during Eton College concert and was found at her mother's home two miles away in 'cry for help' weeks before she killed herself at £44k-a-year Wycombe Abbey school, inquest told
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A private schoolgirl went missing during a concert at Eton College and ran away to her mother's home weeks before she is believed to have taken her own life, an inquest has heard.
Caitlyn Scott-Lee, 16, was found dead at the £44,000-a-year Wycombe Abbey School in Buckinghamshire in April, last year, the day before she was due to have her first ever detention.
The autistic teenager, who had told a friend she would 'rather kill myself than go to detention', was given the punishment after alcohol was found in her locker on March 19.
An inquest at Buckinghamshire Coroner's Court heard on Monday that the autistic teenager disappeared two days later on the same day she was due to play at the concert in Eton.
She was found at her mother's home two miles away in Windsor, with Caitlyn describing the incident in a diary entry - found after her death - as her 'best cry out for help'.
Caitlyn Scott-Lee, 16, (pictured) was found dead at Wycombe Abbey on April 21 last year
Caitlyn Scott-Lee (pictured), 16, took her own life at a prestigious private Buckinghamshire school, Wycombe Abbey School in April last year
Caitlyn is pictured with her family, as her father paid her a heartbreaking tribute today
Wycombe Abbey headmistress Jo Duncan was asked if staff made a connection between the Eton College incident, and alcohol being found in Caitlyn's possession.
'From my perspective we saw them as different incidents,' she said.
She said staff believed Caitlyn had run away from the concert as she did not want her mother to see her perform.
Caitlyn had previously had issues with her parents watching her play music, and had emailed her mother asking her not to come to the concert, Ms Duncan said.
Her father, Jonathan Scott-Lee, described teen as 'daddy's girl' whose memory will live on in the hearts of her family and friends.
At the start of a three-day inquest into her death, Mr Scott-Lee was allowed to read a highly emotional pen portrait about his eldest child.
As he took his place at the front of Beaconsfield Coroner's Court, he placed her favourite stuffed toy – the 2012 Olympic mascot called Wenlock – on a desk in the front of a desk for witnesses.
A friend's statement was read to the court in which she said Caitlyn had mentioned that she would rather kill herself than have a detention, which her father said showed how 'painfully clear' it was that his daughter was 'truly literal'.
Mr Scott-Lee, who had flown over from Malaysia for the inquest as he is separated from Caitlyn's mother, was also allowed to play a photo montage of his daughter accompanied by music before the start of the inquest.
The coroner, Mr Crispin Butler, adjourned the hearing after the reading to allow family members, including Caitlyn's mum Tara and grandparents, to compose themselves.
In his pen portrait Mr Scott-Lee, a banker, spoke of his pride and joy when Caitlyn was born after 16 hours labour at a hospital near their home in Windsor.
Caitlyn was found dead the day before her first ever detention at Wycombe Abbey (pictured)
A three-day hearing into the teenager's death began today in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
Caitlyn's father Jonathan Scott-Lee (pictured) described the 16-year-old as 'daddy's girl' whose memory will live on in the hearts of her family and friends
Tara Scott-Lee, Caitlyn's mother, is pictured leaving Beaconsfield Coroners Court
He said: 'The day was serene and perfect. She was our first born and was a daddy's girl. I took care of her, dressed her, cuddled her and soothed her.'
Mr Scott-Lee said Caitlyn would cry when he left for work but happy when he returned.
He said: 'As she grew as a toddler, there would be bittersweet moments where she would stand by the window of our home and cry as I left for my daily commute.
'Little did she know I would return each evening.'
'We both did love the special daddy-daughter time,' he said.
He said the extent of her disobedience as a toddler was failing to use mouthwash when she was angry.
'Disobedience did not come easy,' he told the coroner's court.
Mr Scott-Lee said his daughter's autism meant that she 'loved intensely' and said he too has autism.
'It is a myth that people with autism don't have much emotion,' he said.
Mr Scott-Lee said their feelings were 'amplified' as they are 'internal'.
'Caitlyn was so much more than autism, Wycombe Abbey, and detention,' he said.
He spoke of his joy accompanying his daughter as she enjoyed various activities such as scuba diving, walking along the Great Wall of China and driving a car at the age of 13.
Mr Scott-Lee told the inquest he had looked through a photo album after her death.
He said: 'I saw photos of Caitlyn obtaining her scuba diving licence at age 10 in the Philippines, playing tennis in Scotland, modelling in Singapore, camping in Wales, riding helicopters in New Zealand, skiing across Japan, honing rifle marksmanship in Birmingham, driving at age 13 at Mercedes Brooklands, and hiking the Great Wall of China.
'Even I was surprised at how full a life Caitlyn lived in 6,041 days.'
Briefly mentioning her death, he said 'most people don't want to end their life, but to stop the pain.
Caitlyn planned on studying A-levels and was considering a career in the theatre
The autistic teen had gone missing weeks earlier after she was given her first detention when alcohol was found in her locker
Mr Scott-Lee, who had flown over from Malaysia for the inquest, was also allowed to play a photo montage of his daughter accompanied by music before the start of the inquest
'Like most people, she wanted to do well in everything she signed up for. Of course, we listened to her and yielded although I wonder whether I should have more actively taught her to persevere in an imperfect world, rather than prematurely leap into a perfect heaven.
He added: 'I, her very own father, failed to help my daughter envision a life full of hope. I respect her agency while disliking her decision.'
The court was told that days before her death Caitlyn had written about killing herself in a diary she kept. She was a boarder at the school whose former pupils included the judge Dame Elizabeth Butler Sloss.
The coroner said the diary entries were contained positive and negatives such as Caitlyn looking forward to playing tennis.
The inquest heard that staff began to search for Caitlyn after she failed to return in time for curfew at her boarding school accommodation on April 21.
She was then found in a secluded area of the school.
The Coroner had ruled at the start of the inquest that school-friends who will give evidence will not be named.
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