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This is a tragic story. RIP.
A tormented teenager who was struggling with her sexuality and gender deliberately took her own life during a summer walk with her dad, an inquest heard.
Qudsiyah Mahmood, 13, had begged her dad, who was in ill-health, to take her to Baitings Reservoir, near Ripponden, a place that their family would visit regularly, with the promise she would do well in her upcoming exams at school.
But Bradford Coroner's Court heard on Thursday (October 16) that it was a ploy to get her to the spot so she could jump in the water, Leeds Live reports.
Representing West Yorkshire Police, DI Laura Hall retold the tragic events leading up to her death. DI Laura Hall said: "Prior to the events of May 28, Qudsiyah had been asking her father, Mr Mahmood, to visit Baitings Reservoir. It was a place the family regularly visited and was about a 20 minute drive away from the family's home.
"Qudsiyah had asked to visit to take photos on the bridge like she had seen on social media, although due to her father's ill-health, he warned her that they couldn't stay very long. Upon promising she would 'do well in her exams' if her father took her, Mr Mahmood and Qudsiyah drove to the reservoir around lunchtime."
After taking photos by the shore, DI Hall explained that Mr Mahmood and Qudsiyah had walked to the bridge. Qudsiyah had asked for her father to take a few videos, minutes before she entered the water.
DI Hall said: "Mr Mahmood was walking slightly ahead, when he recalls 'feeling like something was wrong' and 'hearing a splash'. Mr Mahmood turned around to see Qudsiyah over the edge of the bridge and struggling in the water."
After investigating, West Yorkshire Police only found one witness who had seen Qudsiyah enter the water. DI Hall told the coroner's court that the witness - a jogger named Mr Cooke - said he saw the girl step off a bridge "without hesitation".
DI Hall told the court: "Mr Cooke had been on a run around Baitings Reservoir. He was half-way past the dam when he said he saw a girl on the edge of the railing step into the water without hesitation. He then heard a man shouting for help and Mr Cooke recalled telling officers that he thought Qudsiyah had "jumped in the reservoir."
Following the tragedy, West Yorkshire Police visited Qudsiyah's family on May 28, where it was believed that Qudsiyah's fall was likely an accident. Police were not able to locate the teenager's body until the following day, after enlisting sonar location technology to navigate the deep water.
At 5:17pm, Qudsiyah was recovered and pronounced dead. Investigations continued, with Qudsiyah's friends coming forward with a number of Snapchat screenshots of messages they believed the police should review.
DI Hall told the court: "Screenshots of messages sent on Snapchat insinuated that Qudsiyah was experiencing low mood and was confused about sexuality. She was questioning whether she was gender fluid and agnostic, and also whether she was intending to take her own life. The family was not aware of this but told the police that, whatever the problem, they would have been supportive."
Based on the evidence given, the conclusions drawn from the inquest today were that Qudsiyah's death was therefore, a suicide.
Summarising the inquest, HM Assisted Corner Caroline Chandler said: "My way of summing up today I have conducted an inquest into the tragic death of Qudsiyah Mahmood, born on October 21, aged 13 at the time of her death.
"On the afternoon of May 28, 2025, Qudsiyah and her father visited Baitings Reservoir in Ripdon. The family visited the reservoir regularly and Qudsiyah had asked her father to go and take some photos on the bridge.
"That morning she had awoken her father, asking to go. They went to the bridge, walked across it and took some photos. Following this Qudsiyah is described as being behind her father. Something alerts him to turn round, and when he turns around, she is gone.
"There is a call from her father to 999 made at 1.13pm. A jogger, Mr. Cooke, describes seeing Qudsiyah step up onto the railing and fall over into the water. There was apparently no hesitation. He is the only witness who saw her enter the water.
"Multiple emergency services attended the scene and her body was recovered at 5.10pm on the May 29. A post-mortem report found the cause of death to be by drowning. West Yorkshire Police undertook an investigation.
A schoolgirl took her own life at a reservoir after tricking her father into taking her there, an inquest has heard.
Qudsiyah Mahmood, 13, had begged her ill dad to take her to the Baitings Reservoir near Rippondean, West Yorkshire, with the promise she would do well in her upcoming exams at school.
But an inquest at Bradford Coroner's Court heard the teen girl, from Halifax, had said it as a ploy.
She had woken her father up to ask him to take her there on the day of her death, the inquest heard, and told him she had wanted to take pictures and videos at the location.
He had been walking in front of her, but when he turned around to check on her she had gone, the inquest heard.
She drowned on May 28, with her body being found the following day.
Qudsiyah had told friends she had been in a 'low mood' at the time, however, her family were not aware of her intentions.
Detective Inspector Laura Hall, of West Yorkshire Police, told the inquest that officers had seen screenshots of Snapchat messages Qudsiyah had sent to her friends prior to her death.
'She was questioning whether she was gender fluid and agnostic, and also whether she was intending to take her own life,' she said.
'The family was not aware of this but told the police that, whatever the problem, they would have been supportive.'
DI Hall added: 'Qudsiyah had asked to visit to take photos on the bridge like she had seen on social media, although due to her father's ill-health, he warned her that they couldn't stay very long.
'Upon promising she would "do well in her exams" if her father took her, Mr Mahmood and Qudsiyah drove to the reservoir around lunchtime.
'Mr Mahmood was walking slightly ahead, when he recalls "feeling like something was wrong" and "hearing a splash".
'Mr Mahmood turned around to see Qudsiyah over the edge of the bridge and struggling in the water.'
The detective said she had told friends she was going somewhere with her father, and the teenager was 'intending to take her own life'.
The hearing was told Qudsiyah regularly went on walks at the reservoir with her family and it had been somewhere she enjoyed visiting.
'Based on the account from [the witness] and messages to friends, it would suggest that she had taken her own life,' the detective said.
She added: 'Her friends were aware but nobody else was aware of what she was doing.
'Screenshots of messages sent on Snapchat insinuated that Qudsiyah was experiencing low mood and was confused about sexuality.
'She was questioning whether she was gender fluid and agnostic, and also whether she was intending to take her own life.
'The family was not aware of this but told the police that, whatever the problem, they would have been supportive.'
Calderdale Council said no safeguarding concerns were identified following an investigation.
Ms Chandler concluded: 'It would appear from the evidence that Qudsiyah deliberately entered the water.'
The teenager, who was a Year 8 pupil at The Crossley Heath School in Halifax, was described as a 'bright, kind and friendly young person who brought happiness to our school' by headteacher Dean Jones.
Recording a suicide conclusion, Corner Caroline Chandler said: 'The family visited the reservoir regularly and Qudsiyah had asked her father to go and take some photos on the bridge. That morning she had awoken her father, asking to go.
'They went to the bridge, walked across it and took some photos. Following this Qudsiyah is described as being behind her father. Something alerts him to turn round, and when he turns around, she is gone.'
www.dailymail.co.uk
A tormented teenager who was struggling with her sexuality and gender deliberately took her own life during a summer walk with her dad, an inquest heard.
Qudsiyah Mahmood, 13, had begged her dad, who was in ill-health, to take her to Baitings Reservoir, near Ripponden, a place that their family would visit regularly, with the promise she would do well in her upcoming exams at school.
But Bradford Coroner's Court heard on Thursday (October 16) that it was a ploy to get her to the spot so she could jump in the water, Leeds Live reports.
Representing West Yorkshire Police, DI Laura Hall retold the tragic events leading up to her death. DI Laura Hall said: "Prior to the events of May 28, Qudsiyah had been asking her father, Mr Mahmood, to visit Baitings Reservoir. It was a place the family regularly visited and was about a 20 minute drive away from the family's home.
"Qudsiyah had asked to visit to take photos on the bridge like she had seen on social media, although due to her father's ill-health, he warned her that they couldn't stay very long. Upon promising she would 'do well in her exams' if her father took her, Mr Mahmood and Qudsiyah drove to the reservoir around lunchtime."
After taking photos by the shore, DI Hall explained that Mr Mahmood and Qudsiyah had walked to the bridge. Qudsiyah had asked for her father to take a few videos, minutes before she entered the water.
DI Hall said: "Mr Mahmood was walking slightly ahead, when he recalls 'feeling like something was wrong' and 'hearing a splash'. Mr Mahmood turned around to see Qudsiyah over the edge of the bridge and struggling in the water."
After investigating, West Yorkshire Police only found one witness who had seen Qudsiyah enter the water. DI Hall told the coroner's court that the witness - a jogger named Mr Cooke - said he saw the girl step off a bridge "without hesitation".
DI Hall told the court: "Mr Cooke had been on a run around Baitings Reservoir. He was half-way past the dam when he said he saw a girl on the edge of the railing step into the water without hesitation. He then heard a man shouting for help and Mr Cooke recalled telling officers that he thought Qudsiyah had "jumped in the reservoir."
Following the tragedy, West Yorkshire Police visited Qudsiyah's family on May 28, where it was believed that Qudsiyah's fall was likely an accident. Police were not able to locate the teenager's body until the following day, after enlisting sonar location technology to navigate the deep water.
At 5:17pm, Qudsiyah was recovered and pronounced dead. Investigations continued, with Qudsiyah's friends coming forward with a number of Snapchat screenshots of messages they believed the police should review.
DI Hall told the court: "Screenshots of messages sent on Snapchat insinuated that Qudsiyah was experiencing low mood and was confused about sexuality. She was questioning whether she was gender fluid and agnostic, and also whether she was intending to take her own life. The family was not aware of this but told the police that, whatever the problem, they would have been supportive."
Based on the evidence given, the conclusions drawn from the inquest today were that Qudsiyah's death was therefore, a suicide.
Summarising the inquest, HM Assisted Corner Caroline Chandler said: "My way of summing up today I have conducted an inquest into the tragic death of Qudsiyah Mahmood, born on October 21, aged 13 at the time of her death.
"On the afternoon of May 28, 2025, Qudsiyah and her father visited Baitings Reservoir in Ripdon. The family visited the reservoir regularly and Qudsiyah had asked her father to go and take some photos on the bridge.
"That morning she had awoken her father, asking to go. They went to the bridge, walked across it and took some photos. Following this Qudsiyah is described as being behind her father. Something alerts him to turn round, and when he turns around, she is gone.
"There is a call from her father to 999 made at 1.13pm. A jogger, Mr. Cooke, describes seeing Qudsiyah step up onto the railing and fall over into the water. There was apparently no hesitation. He is the only witness who saw her enter the water.
"Multiple emergency services attended the scene and her body was recovered at 5.10pm on the May 29. A post-mortem report found the cause of death to be by drowning. West Yorkshire Police undertook an investigation.
A schoolgirl took her own life at a reservoir after tricking her father into taking her there, an inquest has heard.
Qudsiyah Mahmood, 13, had begged her ill dad to take her to the Baitings Reservoir near Rippondean, West Yorkshire, with the promise she would do well in her upcoming exams at school.
But an inquest at Bradford Coroner's Court heard the teen girl, from Halifax, had said it as a ploy.
She had woken her father up to ask him to take her there on the day of her death, the inquest heard, and told him she had wanted to take pictures and videos at the location.
He had been walking in front of her, but when he turned around to check on her she had gone, the inquest heard.
She drowned on May 28, with her body being found the following day.
Qudsiyah had told friends she had been in a 'low mood' at the time, however, her family were not aware of her intentions.
Detective Inspector Laura Hall, of West Yorkshire Police, told the inquest that officers had seen screenshots of Snapchat messages Qudsiyah had sent to her friends prior to her death.
'She was questioning whether she was gender fluid and agnostic, and also whether she was intending to take her own life,' she said.
'The family was not aware of this but told the police that, whatever the problem, they would have been supportive.'
DI Hall added: 'Qudsiyah had asked to visit to take photos on the bridge like she had seen on social media, although due to her father's ill-health, he warned her that they couldn't stay very long.
'Upon promising she would "do well in her exams" if her father took her, Mr Mahmood and Qudsiyah drove to the reservoir around lunchtime.
'Mr Mahmood was walking slightly ahead, when he recalls "feeling like something was wrong" and "hearing a splash".
'Mr Mahmood turned around to see Qudsiyah over the edge of the bridge and struggling in the water.'
The detective said she had told friends she was going somewhere with her father, and the teenager was 'intending to take her own life'.
The hearing was told Qudsiyah regularly went on walks at the reservoir with her family and it had been somewhere she enjoyed visiting.
'Based on the account from [the witness] and messages to friends, it would suggest that she had taken her own life,' the detective said.
She added: 'Her friends were aware but nobody else was aware of what she was doing.
'Screenshots of messages sent on Snapchat insinuated that Qudsiyah was experiencing low mood and was confused about sexuality.
'She was questioning whether she was gender fluid and agnostic, and also whether she was intending to take her own life.
'The family was not aware of this but told the police that, whatever the problem, they would have been supportive.'
Calderdale Council said no safeguarding concerns were identified following an investigation.
Ms Chandler concluded: 'It would appear from the evidence that Qudsiyah deliberately entered the water.'
The teenager, who was a Year 8 pupil at The Crossley Heath School in Halifax, was described as a 'bright, kind and friendly young person who brought happiness to our school' by headteacher Dean Jones.
Recording a suicide conclusion, Corner Caroline Chandler said: 'The family visited the reservoir regularly and Qudsiyah had asked her father to go and take some photos on the bridge. That morning she had awoken her father, asking to go.
'They went to the bridge, walked across it and took some photos. Following this Qudsiyah is described as being behind her father. Something alerts him to turn round, and when he turns around, she is gone.'
Girl took her own life after tricking dad into taking her to reservoir
Qudsiyah Mahmood, 13, had begged her dad to take her to the Baitings Reservoir near Rippondean, West Yorkshire, with the promise she would do well in her upcoming exams.
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