A mother and her teenage daughter killed themselves in a joint suicide pact after their son and brother took his own life just months before, an inquest heard today.
Suzan Mahmoud, 42, and Davina Allen, 17, had even bought plots of land where they hoped to be buried, before both taking a cocktail of drugs at the same time just before Christmas in December 2022.
They left behind letters detailing their 'deep distress' at losing their brother and son, Harvey Allen, in August of the same year.
An inquest heard Mr Allen, who was autistic and suffered with mental health issues, had taken his life on his sister's birthday.
Laura Allen, Ms Mahmoud's eldest daughter - who found their bodies - said her family were deeply impacted by the loss and her mother would often cry and say she 'could not live without him'.
The mother and daughter used the internet to research methods of suicide. Their bodies were found surrounded by 'smouldered' barbecues and handwritten notes which contained instructions on the order in which to take the drugs they consumed.
Today, Sarah Whitby, Assistant Coroner for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton, concluded that the mother and daughter died by suicide.
The bodies of Mrs Mahmoud and her teenage daughter were found inside their £620,000 countryside bungalow in Hampshire's New Forest National Park on December 29, 2022.
Statements written by her eldest daughter Laura Allen, 22, were read out to the inquest at Winchester Coroner's Court, Hants.
Ms Allen said the family moved to the New Forest from Maidenhead, Berks, in February of that year because Ms Mahmoud 'wanted to live in a quiet area'.
The video content editor - who was excused from giving live evidence at the inquest for mental health reasons - said her brother had committed suicide on August 31, 2022.
'This had a big impact on my mother and my sister,' she said.
'[My mother] had said a lot that she could not live without him after he died.'
She said her mother would often 'cry' and 'scream'.
Ms Allen said her sister Davina was also impacted by the loss of her brother, as the pair were 'only a year apart and did everything together'.
Ms Allen said that last time she saw her mum and sister was on December 24.
'I saw my mum and my sister on the Saturday and we had an argument,' she continued.
'The argument was about life and my life choices.
'She was very upset about everything that had happened with my brother.
'She said I should leave so I went away for a couple of days with my boyfriend.'
The inquest heard Mr Allen, believed to be a teenager when he died, took his life on Davina's 17th birthday.
Ms Allen returned to the detached five-bed bungalow on December 29, 2022, after a family friend, Hasti Hawis, raised concerns.
The inquest heard the front door was locked but Mr Hawis was able to climb through a window and let Ms Allen in.
She said: 'The door to the bedroom was closed so I opened it and that was when I saw my mum and sister on the bed.'
Ms Allen said she 'screamed' and ran out of the house.
DS Simon Yearsley, who also gave evidence at the inquest, described the house as a 'building site'.
He said: 'There was no sort of obvious signs of plumbing or heating.
'It just looked like a house under renovation with two rooms being lived in.'
DS Yearsley - who said the pair were surrounded by barbecues - continued: 'I didn't find any letters per se but I did find handwritten notes with timings on them.'
He said he was aware of suicide notes which had also been found the next day by Ms Mahmoud's eldest daughter.
He told the inquest that these confirmed that the pair wanted to be buried.
The inquest heard the notes left by the pair showed their 'significant sadness' and 'significant anger' at losing Mr Allen.
The teenager's note stated at the beginning: 'I Davina Allen have made the decision to kill myself.'
The inquest heard the pair had purchased a drug online and a pathologist said the pair were surrounded by 'disposable barbecues - some of which were smouldered'.
Despite this, he recorded their death as being caused by 'substantial intoxication' from drugs including painkillers.
The inquest heard Ms Mahmoud was originally from Kurdistan and moved to the UK some 25 years ago.
It was heard she had experienced mental health issues in the early 2000s due to fears she would be deported.
Her friend, Mr Howis, said the mother was 'clearly upset on a daily basis' and was often crying as a result of the loss of Mr Allen.
He said that Davina was also struggling, as it became clear that she was 'not eating properly'.
The coroner delivered near identical conclusions for the mother and daughter.
Mrs Whitby said: 'I cannot see that this was anything but intentional.'
'All I can do is rely on the notes they left, and the preparation they made.'
The coroner referred to the fact that they had various medications to hand, and that there was evidence that they were 'investigating how to commit suicide'.
Returning a conclusion of suicide for Ms Mahmoud, she said: 'A note left with her body indicated that she had taken her own life through ingesting substances as a result of her deep unhappiness following the death of her son that previous August.'
For Davina, the coroner returned the same conclusion but said that she was also had a 'deep unhappiness generally'.