Mother said she was suicidal before killing herself and daughter, 9
A 40-year-old mother who killed her daughter and then herself had told her doctor that she thought about committing suicide and "taking her daughter with her", but the notes alerting other medical staff to these details were lost until after the tragedy.
Two days after the bodies of Madeleine O'Neill and her daughter Lauren were found in their Carryduff home, on the outskirts of Belfast, in July 2005 the notes were retrieved.
An independent inquiry into the deaths of Mrs O'Neill and her daughter highlighted a number of failings in the care provided to them including the disappearance of notes which could have alerted staff in Gransha Hospital in Derry about her suicidal intentions.
The report also claimed that, had health professionals acted properly on the threats to Lauren's life, it could have been prevented.
Mrs O'Neill had been receiving treatment from her GP for a number of years for depression but there was a marked change in her demeanour in May 2005 two days before she took an overdose of medications.
One month earlier in sessions with a private counsellor, she indicated she was having suicidal thoughts and made a reference to taking Lauren with her.
This prompted her GP to contact Knockbracken Healthcare Park in south Belfast about admitting Mrs O'Neill as a voluntary patient, but there were no available beds at the time.
When she was finally admitted, it was decided she should be transferred to Gransha hospital by her parents where she stayed for almost a fortnight before she was discharged at her own request.
However, throughout her stay, staff at Gransha were unaware of any threat to Mrs O'Neill's daughter Lauren because they did not see the notes from Knockbracken.
Mrs O'Neill was diagnosed as suffering from a major or moderate depressive disorder.
On July 7, a file compiled by Gransha staff was taken to the Cityside Community Mental Health Team's offices in Derry.
Two days after Mrs O'Neill killed her daughter and herself the file was retrieved and was found to contain the Knockbracken notes.
