A Britain’s Got Talent dancer found dead at home had been arrested over a child sex offence just days earlier, an inquest has heard.
Warning: This story contains descriptions some readers may find distressing, including references to suicide.
Kerri-Anne Donaldson’s body was discovered in Farnborough, Hampshire, on 7 June 2023 – the day after she was discharged from hospital.
The 38-year-old had been taken into custody and questioned at a police station on suspicion of “child sex offending” three days before her death, the hearing was told.
Ms Donaldson, who reached the semi-final of the TV talent show in 2014 as part of dance group Kings and Queens, was arrested on 4 June 2023 about the alleged sex offence, which she denied.
After going missing and being found at a hotel in Woking, Surrey, she was taken to nearby St Peter’s Hospital, having taken an overdose.
But she was discharged on 6 June, then Ms Donaldson was found dead at her home the following morning, Winchester coroner’s court heard.
At an inquest into her death, the coroner heard Ms Donaldson told the alleged victim she would take her own life “if someone finds out” about the allegation made to police.
Detective Constable Benjamin Harris, of Hampshire Constabulary, said he considered the possibility Ms Donaldson’s reported comments could be a “form of control” against her accuser.
He said: “In my experience in some offences it can often be said without wanting to carry it out.”
After being taken to hospital following her arrest and deemed a “high and imminent risk of suicide”, she was later ruled suitable for release as she had “settled”, allowing her to be discharged.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Martin Williams, who was one of three mental health workers who carried out an assessment of Ms Donaldson before her release, told the inquest she was suffering from an “acute adjustment reaction” to her arrest.
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A psychiatric nurse rated her risk at level 10 out of 10 on 5 June, but the next day she was assessed as having changed her position from the previous evening and was released.
Dr Williams said: “I was able to form a snapshot of the risk she was posing at that point, she expressed clearly that she didn’t have plans to carry out acts that could lead to her death.
“It struck me how warm and personable Kerri-Anne was, it struck me she was open, she was receptive, she was showing emotions appropriate of what she was facing.”
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Dr Williams added: “We considered the possibility she was masking a higher level of risk than she was saying, but all the indications were that she was settling and the risk was markedly reduced from the previous day.”
Dr Williams said hospital staff were told the nature of the allegation by either police or Ms Donaldson, but she told him she no longer believed she was “definitely going to go to prison”.
He said: “She had shifted from a position of quite stressed and downbeat about the police involvement to where she felt much more confident.”
Dr Williams said Ms Donaldson said she “wanted to take her own legal advice and wanted to fight the case”.
He added: “She believed she had a good case in putting together a defence to whatever the arrest was for, she believed she had a good case.
“She expressed a view on the day of the assessment, she was no longer so worried about going to prison.”
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Detective Chief Superintendent Sarah McConnell, of Hampshire Constabulary, said the officer who carried out an enhanced risk assessment of Ms Donaldson while she was in hospital acted “appropriately” by not revealing to the medical team what she had been arrested for.
No further details about the nature of the allegation, other than it was over “child sex offending,” were heard during the inquest.
The hearing continues.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
