Young mum 'took her own life' on Christmas Day after dropping off her baby girl to nan's
Tributes have been paid to ‘lovely and caring’ mum Laura Graham (Picture: MEN Media)

A young and much-loved mum is thought to have killed herself on Christmas Day after struggling with stress.

Laura Graham, 26, had left her 10-month-old daughter Elsie with her mum on December 25 at around 9pm, then went back to her home in Seacroft, Leeds.

But her mum Debbie Graham grew increasingly concerned by Boxing Day morning when her daughter didn’t answer her phone.

She and a concerned neighbour broke into Laura’s house and tragically found her dead.

Debbie, 48, said: ‘I’m just in shock to be honest, it’s all a blur. She’s been depressed for quite a while because she’s got epilepsy.

‘She was having quite a lot of fits and she was under a lot of stress. Her sister walked her home at about 9pm on Christmas Day night. That was the last we saw of her.’

Debbie looked after baby Elsie overnight, which she had often done when Laura was recovering from an epileptic fit.

Laura was thought to have struggled with depression for some time due to her condition, but had never spoken to people about her mental health issues.

Tributes have been paid to a young mum who is believed to have taken her own life on Christmas Day. Debbie Graham said her daughter Laura Graham, 26, had struggled with depression for some time but had never spoken to people about her mental health issues. Caption: Laura Graham, 26, who was found dead at her home in Seacroft, Leeds, on 26 December 2021
Laura, 26, was believed to have suffered with depression due to her epilepsy (Picture: MEN Media)
Tributes have been paid to a young mum who is believed to have taken her own life on Christmas Day. Debbie Graham said her daughter Laura Graham, 26, had struggled with depression for some time but had never spoken to people about her mental health issues. Caption: Laura Graham, 26, who was found dead at her home in Seacroft, Leeds, on 26 December 2021
She leaves behind a 10-month-old daughter called Elsie (Picture: MEN Media)

Debbie said she grew anxious in the morning when Laura didn’t answer the phone.

‘I felt she was probably in bed sleeping,’ she added. ‘We waited a bit longer and couldn’t get in touch with her so we went up.

‘I’ve got a spare key but she’d put her key in the lock on the inside of the door so I couldn’t get in.

‘I didn’t want to phone the police to kick the door in and she’s just in bed sleeping so I got in touch with a neighbour and he went round and he got through the kitchen window and he went up.

‘I’ve been in shock since then. One minute it’s starting to sink in and then the next minute you just can’t believe it.

‘I keep expecting her to walk through the door.’

The mum said Laura, who worked at Greggs in Seacroft, could be ‘like a different person’ when she was going through a bout of depression.

Debbie said: ‘As herself, she was lovely and very caring. She loved her baby and was a very good mum.’

A GoFundMe page set up to help with funeral costs has raised more than £3,000 at the time of publication.

Debbie said it showed just how loved Laura was by family, friends and colleagues – more than she may have realised.

‘She used to think everybody was against her but a lot more people than she knew cared,’ she added.

‘I just wish people would talk to people if they felt like this. She had a lot of people to talk to and she never did.’


Need support? Contact the Samaritans

For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on , email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.

.