WANSTEAD: Mystery death of A Level student

8:00am Thursday 28th August 2008

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THE family of a promising teenager have been left searching for answers after she apparently jumped in front of a train at Wanstead Underground station.

Friends and relatives of 18-year-old Rose Smith have spoken of their shock and grief after the “bubbly, fun-loving woman” died following a night out with friends at The George pub, opposite.

The entrance to the station has been turned into a makeshift shrine as dozens of friends and relatives have left flowers and messages of condolence following the tragedy last Friday, August 22.

Rose, who attended St Joseph’s Convent Primary School in Wanstead before going to secondary school in Essex, had achieved good marks in her A-Level exams the week before her death – but had no plans to go university.

The keen sportswoman, who had represented Essex at netball, left a written note for her parents and sent text messages to other loved ones, telling them that she loved them, just hours before she died.

Her eldest cousin, Jessica Smith, said her death had left her family in a state of shock. She added police had told them Rose had fallen under a train as it pulled into the station, but the teenager appeared happy in the days leading up to her death and had no history of depression or mental illness.

She said: “This has come as an absolutely awful shock for all of us.

“Rose was such a popular, wonderful girl, who always had a smile on her face and was loved by her family and by so many friends.

“This has been completely inexplicable because she seemed so happy and had not spoken about having any problems.

“She had only just had an interview for a job in the financial services sector, and was waiting to hear how she had done.

“I’ll remember her smile and the way she always cared for other people and put them before herself.”

Rose lived in Forest Gate with her mother, Gillian and father Paul, who were too upset to speak about her death. She also leaves an older brother, Joe, 21, and a younger sister, Olivia, 13.

A British Transport Police spokesman said Rose’s death was not being treated as suspicious