Sixth-form pupil, 16, found hanged at home after viewing death metal bands on YouTube Re-posted from The Daily Mail UK and shared by one of my colleagues here at All things METAL \m/ A sixth-former who became introverted and withdrawn when he met his first girlfriend was found hanged after spending his final three hours searching for death metal songs on YouTube, an inquest heard. Oliver King, 16, left no suicide note and had never received any medical help for depression or mental illness. But he texted a friend weeks before his death saying I imagine killing myself every day and police found deleted images on his iPod which included the words: I’m sorry I want to give up. I’m sorry I want to die. I’m sorry I want to kill myself. A coroner ruled he had been going through some dark periods generally and was trapped with nobody to turn to for objective advice. The inquest heard Oliver, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, turned from an outgoing schoolboy into an introvert after beginning his first serious relationship. The teenager began spending little time at home, lost weight and fell behind with his A-level studies. He had coursework deadlines the day after he died in February last year and relations with his parents became strained. He had also begun wearing dark clothes, long hair and make-up and listening to bands he had not listened to before, including Avenged Sevenfold and Black Veil Brides, the hearing was told. The inquest heard Oliver spent three hours on the night he died viewing songs including The Body of Death of the Man With The Body of Death by Pinkly Smooth, before taking his own life while his mother was out of the house. After the hearing his father Adrian King, 43, a management and IT consultant, said: I think the music did contribute to his state of mind. He was hanging out with the wrong crowd and I believe this lifestyle was more to blame than anything else. He had changed his clothes, his music, his address and his face. He was manipulated and felt isolated. Anyone who had met Oliver a year before his death would not have recognised him a year later. A year before he was a regular 15-year-old. He had friends, was happy with his life, had a good relationship with his parents, was gifted at art and progressing well at school. But Olivers girlfriend denied the music was dark, as the coroner asked, and instead pointed to the fact the schoolboy did not feel comfortable at home and had been stressed with coursework. Another school friend said he had been teased over his new look. Oliver was found hanging by his mother Diane King, whose attempts to revive him failed and he died in Rotherham Hospital. She told the inquest Oliver, who lived with his father after the couple divorced, preferred to be at his girlfriend’s house and stayed out most days and evenings as well as studying. He was very secretive and wouldn’t tell me where he was or where he was going, said Mrs King. Two weeks before his death he moved back in with his mother, the inquest heard. The inquest heard Oliver’s relationship may have hit a rocky patch and his girlfriend made 20 attempts to contact him in a short space of time just before he was found. A text from Oliver to her read: Please, please stay strong you are not leaving. His iPod contained deleted images with the words everything will be OK in the end, if it’s not OK its the end. Another said: I have driven myself to the edge. I cant take it any more. His girlfriend, whom the coroner asked not to be named, arrived at the house with another boy after Oliver had been found. Mrs King told the inquest: She said: Is it Oliver? Is he dead? She didn’t seem overly upset. I thought had they split up and is he the new boyfriend. Det Con Ian Hampshire, who investigated Oliver’s death, said a fellow pupil told him: Oliver felt trapped and always had to do what his girlfriend wanted to do. And Mr King told the inquest he and his ex-wife had clashed with the girl’s parents over the amount of time Oliver was spending at their house. But the girl told the inquest Oliver had become very stressed with his coursework, especially ICT, and he had project deadlines the day after his death. She said it was his choice to wear eyeliner but he had not changed his clothes since meeting her. They shared the same interest in music but he was not associated with any particular group. Asked by the coroner if it was dark music she replied: Not from my perspective. I don’t see it as dark music. She added he spent a lot of time with her because he did not feel comfortable at home, and denied telling him their relationship was over. Another schoolfriend said Oliver was kind and full of joy before he returned to school in the September term. He had dramatically lost weight and wore eyeliner, he told the inquest. He was aware there was some name-calling and ill-feeling from some of the other pupils. The sixth-former had been struggling with his schoolwork but improved after a clear-the-air meeting at school, his head of sixth form Patrick Buttrell told the inquest. Mr Buttrell added there was no official dress code for sixth formers but he had asked Oliver to tone down his make-up. It was a light-hearted conversation, he gave me a bit of a smile and said he knew it was over the top, said Mr Buttrell. The teenager’s death triggered an investigation involving childrens’ services, public health and police in Rotherham. Deputy Rotherham coroner Fred Curtis said Oliver had loving and caring parents and his new relationship had come at the expense of family and friends. He was trapped with nobody to turn to for objective advice, said Mr Curtis. He was paranoid over his relationship with his girlfriend which may have reached a rocky patch in his mind and he was troubled by his schoolwork. The Coroner added: He had been through some dark periods and that evening it culminated in a decision, in my view, to take his own life. ~GirlWithDragonTat
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 22:48:53 +0000
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