A teenager who hanged himself had been preoccupied with the death of his aunt who had killed herself 10 months earlier, an inquest has heard.
Boston Coroner’s Court heard that Lee Smalley, 19, of Spalding had told his father on the evening of October 31 last year, that he was going to drive two girls to Leicester and expected to return about three hours later.
The coroner, Mr Timothy Brennan, said that Lee’s brother later contacted his father to say that Lee had sent a text to his former girlfriend at 2.06am saying: ‘By the time you read this I’ll be gone’.
In written evidence, the coroner said that Lee’s father had told the police and then had gone out to search for him himself.
He said that after police traced the approximate location of Lee’s phone, his father found him hanging from a tree in a remote location near the A16 at Cowbit, a few miles south of Spalding, with his car parked nearby.
He said the car contained a photograph of Lee and one of his former girlfriend.
Mr Brennan said that Lee had been preoccupied with the death of his aunt by suicide in Norfolk in January 2018 and there were ‘indications he had not responded to his aunt’s death in a good way’
He said there were also apparently a number of stresses at work and the split with his girlfriend who had gone away to university.
Ruling that Lee had committed suicide, the coroner said it was clear he had chosen a remote location and that he was preoccupied with his aunt’s death and was experiencing some emotional turmoil.
Offering his profound sympathies and condolences, Mr Brennan said it was ‘clear he was from a close loving family and had so much to live for’ but ‘the degree of preparation, location and background information all suggest a deliberate act of suicide’.
