Former Team GB footballer Gemma Wiseman died by suicide, Norfolk coroner rules
A statement described her as a "loving wife and mother"
Former Team GB footballer Gemma Wiseman died by suicide, an inquest has concluded.
The 33-year-old, who had represented England and Great Britain's deaf women's teams, was described in a family statement read to the hearing as a "loving wife and mother".
Mrs Wiseman was found in woodland close to her home in Rackheath, near Norwich, by concerned friends who were looking for her on December 16 last year.
She died at the scene, with her medical cause of death recorded as "constriction of neck structures", Monday's inquest in Norwich was told.
Her wife, Laura Wiseman, said in a statement read by the coroner that they had "planned to go to Cornwall over Christmas", adding: "I didn't know what Gemma intended to do."
She said she had last seen her alive earlier that day.
Chloe Callaghan said, in a statement read to the inquest, that on December 14 2023 her friend "was very quiet" and "wasn't her usual self".
She said that in "all the years I had known Gemma", who worked as a teaching assistant, "she had been very up and down with her mental health".
"She told me of previous dark thoughts and an attempted overdose," said Ms Callaghan.
She said Mrs Wiseman, whom she described as an "amazing mum and devoted wife", had attempted to take her own life on December 15, the night before her death.
Mrs Wiseman's mother-in-law, Christine Wiseman, said in a statement read by the coroner: "To my knowledge Gemma has always suffered with her mental health since an interview she did in 2017.
"She was asked about her dad, who passed away when she was five."
In a family statement, Mrs Wiseman was described as a "kindred spirit to all of us".
They said she was a "loving wife and mother - she always put other people first before herself".
"We have lots of happy memories we will treasure," the family said.
Norfolk area coroner Yvonne Blake concluded that Mrs Wiseman died by suicide.
She said: "I've been told she was a former Team GB footballer - that's an achievement, isn't it?"
She asked family members who attended court what position she played in, and was told she was a defender.
The coroner said Mrs Wiseman was medicated for depression and anxiety, and a therapeutic level of an antidepressant was found in her blood.
She said Mrs Wiseman had previously "taken overdoses including paracetamol".
"Her friends say her mood had dipped before her death for about a month... don't know why but it suddenly dipped," the coroner said.
"She put it down to stresses of life, child, working."
She added that she was "very low in mood for at least a month or six weeks before she died".
She said Mrs Wiseman "seemed to have a bunch of good friends who were keen to help her and unfortunately found Gemma deceased in the woods".
After recording that Mrs Wiseman died by suicide, she told family members who attended court: "I'm very sorry - it's such a horrible thing to have happened for all of you.
"People feel so bad afterwards and tend to blame themselves.
"The sad fact is if somebody is determined to do it they probably will, that's my experience."
She added that Mrs Wiseman "obviously made an impact on people's lives and they cared enough to say so".