Christopher Ballard: Shocking revelations man urged girl, 14, to end her life
A British factory worker encouraged the suicide of a 14-year-old Dutch girl who appealed online for a death partner, a court heard yesterday.
Christopher Ballard, 42, sent emails and WhatsApp messages to Gina van Houten, the court was told.
The teenager announced her intention on a social media site, writing: ‘Hi, my name is Gina. I am a 14-year-old female and I am planning to commit suicide. I would rather do it with someone else than alone. I am asking if you are willing to do it with me.’
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He was said to be in contact with Gina during a two-week period soon after she posted her ‘suicide’ message on February 15, 2018. The teenager was found dead in the bathroom by her mother on March 28.
A ‘farewell letter’ was found on her mobile phone.
It read: ‘I am not here any more when you read this. I want everyone to know that it was my own will. I just do not want to live any more. It’s not that I have had a terrible life. I want to know what it’s like to be dead. Sorry once again.’
Prosecutor James Bourne-Arton, KC, said Ballard suggested methods of dying by suicide and discussed flying to Holland.
In a chat with friends on a ‘suicide pact’ WhatsApp group, Gina mentioned considering suicide and made reference to ‘Chris from the UK who also wants to die’, the court heard. She described him as a doctor who worked in Leeds.
Many of the messages, as well as Gina’s original suicide pact post, flight schedules between Leeds and Amsterdam, and a photograph of Ballard, were found in a folder on her phone.
Ballard allegedly asked Gina: ‘Have you methods in mind? I have got ideas’ and ‘I think it’s best to think of a possible place and methods before I come there’. In response to his suggested methods, Gina wrote: ‘I like those.’
Ballard, of Bradford, was arrested in September 2020 following a joint investigation by the Dutch authorities and West Yorkshire Police. He denies a charge of encouraging or assisting a suicide.
The trial continues.
