The death of 25-year-old Melbourne model Baillee Schneider has been officially ruled a suicide by Deputy Coroner Caitlin English, following a review that found no suspicious circumstances. Schneider was found unconscious in her parents' home in Moonee Ponds on June 24, 2018, with a gold cord tied around her neck, just hours after ending her relationship with 51-year-old events promoter Antony Hampel.
The coroner determined that Schneider, affected by drugs, alcohol, prescription medication, and cocaine, made an impulsive decision to take her own life while upset over relationship difficulties. She had broken up with Hampel because 'their worlds were just too different,' the inquest heard.
Schneider's parents, Cameron and Sabine, had pushed for a deeper investigation, questioning how their daughter could have killed herself given the absence of a suicide note and no obvious place to hang a rope. They also noted she had taken out a life insurance policy three weeks before her death.
The model had been dating Hampel for about nine months and had argued with him at a barbecue the night before her death. She was one of the last people to speak to him. Hampel was previously linked to the 2010 death of Pheobe Handsjuk, who fell down a garbage chute, though no wrongdoing was suggested in either case.
Toxicology reports revealed cocaine in Schneider's blood. In the months leading up to her death, she had begun working at strip clubs and increasingly concealed aspects of her life from her parents, including her relationship with Hampel.
