Elizabeth Outram Hanged Herself After Reality Show Filmed Her Shoplifting Jacket

Elizabeth Outram committed suicide by hanging herself, after she was reportedly caught on camera by a reality show doing something embarrassing and illegal. The Daily Mail reports that the London woman was filmed switching the price tags on a jacket inside a TK Maxx store — an incident which also resulted in fraud charges. Her friends found her body hanging in her flat in Hackney, East London, just after celebrating her birthday at a local pub.

Outram’s loved ones believe that the reality show film crew directly led to her untimely death. Her sister Alexandra says that Renegade Pictures (the production company) pursued Elizabeth after filming her in the gotcha-style incident. She believes that her sister was so badly traumatized by the ordeal that she was driven to suicide.

“She was traumatised by it and was filmed by a production company, I think it was Renegade productions company, they hounded her. They kept sending her messages and calling her. She called them up pretending to be me, she was too ashamed to tell me initially but I would have done the same. She called telling them to leave her alone. [sic]”

Alexandra also claims that Elizabeth had sought psychiatric care over the emotional damage she had suffered as a result of the production company’s actions. This also wasn’t her first attempt at taking her own life. In August 2014, she tried to overdose on medication before a court date associated with the shoplifting case that was filmed.

The Mirror reports that Elizabeth had suffered from depression since a 2007 diagnosis, for which she was taking medication. She also suffered from anxiety and panic attacks, all of which had reportedly stabilized by last year. That was, of course, before the shoplifting incident reportedly threw her back into a state of depression, from which she could not escape. Her fragile mental and emotional state was only made worse by the treatment her sister alleges the production company gave her.

“[She] thought her life was over. She was so embarrassed to even tell me … When she was taken into the back room and questioned they were filming her. She said ‘You can’t film me’ and they said ‘We can’. She said she was ill but they did not call her carer — me. Afterwards they sent her messages telling her they could use it and they were going to.”

An inquest has been held over this case, but it’s unknown if the reality show crew will face any responsibility in the woman’s death. Her sister claims, however, that the production company has promised to not broadcast the footage now that Elizabeth Outram is dead.

[Photo credit: the Mirror]