No sole trigger for student's death, coroner says
Kirsten CouttsNeither the family of a "kind young man", nor the staff at the college where he died, had any idea the student had thoughts of taking his own life, a coroner has said.
Sam Coutts, 18, was found dead at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Darlington, in January, after a meeting with the vice-principal about social media posts in which he had revealed he had a crush on his support worker.
On the third day of the inquest at Crook Civic Centre, County Durham Coroner Crispin Oliver gave a conclusion of suicide, but said there was "no sole triggering" event behind it.
"This tragedy was the end point of a continuum of various factors and events building up over months."
"The most material of these were simply not known to family or college staff."
The inquest was told Sam was "acutely embarrassed" to be diagnosed with autism in 2020 and had tried to cure himself with hormone treatment.
The student found change difficult and was self-critical, the coroner said, which was apparent from his diaries.
Sam had been upset in December when he spoke about college being closed over the holidays, and he appeared worried about making friends at university, the inquest heard.
After he emailed his support worker a link to the Maria Carey song 'All I Want For Christmas Is You', she raised the issue with colleagues and it was decided Sam should transfer to a male support worker.
In early January, the support worker became aware of the social media post revealing Sam had a crush on her, which led to the meeting with the vice-principal, following a discussion with Sam's mother, Kirsten Coutts.
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Three hours after the meeting, Sam was found dead in the college toilets.
Oliver said: "It is important to remember that at no time did Sam, at any point before his death, confide in anyone, whether a family member or staff at the college, any suicidal ideation.
He said Sam has brought the means to end his own life into college that morning.
"The meeting therefore cannot be construed as the sole triggering event," the coroner concluded, alluding to the "inner battles" the student had fought.
A letter found at the scene made no mention of a triggering event either, he added.
He said: "It has been an extremely painful case for everyone involved, and that includes myself.
"I can only express my condolences to members of the family and my thanks for their participation.
"I also express my sympathies with members of the college staff for whom I can appreciate this was an extremely traumatic event."
"All deaths of this nature are tragic," he said.
"What makes this one particularly awful is that it is foreseeable that, but for him ending his own life, he would have gone on to be a high-achieving and eventually happy and fulfilled adult."
The coroner allowed senior college staff to attend the hearing remotely after an email was received on Monday from "an unknown person claiming to be part of some sort of group" in which a threat was made.
Following the inquest, college principal Laurence Job said: "We remember Sam with great affection as a kind young man who had a positive impact on those who knew him.
"Our thoughts remain with Sam and his family and friends."