6 days ago
Teenage boy found dead in playground after storming out of home in row
Connor Lee Mark Slade, 13, was found dead in a school playground after a row over missing vodka and an aerosol.
A 13-year-old boy who was found dead in a school playground had left his home following a row over missing vodka and an aerosol, an inquest has heard.
Connor Lee Mark Slade was discovered unresponsive in the grounds of Melin Primary School in Mile End Row, Neath, in the early hours of January 29 this year, reports the Mirror.
An inquest at Swansea heard the teenager had hoped someone would follow him after the argument at home but tragically, no one reached him in time.
The court was told the schoolboy had no known history of suicidal thoughts or self harm, and regularly left home during arguments before calming down and returning.
The inquest, which was held today, heard Connor's mum, Louise Morgan, describe her son as a "happy boy, one of the lads, a joker and leader of the pack".
Despite his young age, Connor had already been excluded from several schools and had 100 police convictions, according to Detective Constable Siobhan Danaher. The hearing heard he was being supported by Neath Port Talbot social services.
The hearing heard that Connor was receiving help from Neath Port Talbot social services. Connor, who was one of nine children, lived with his father Keiran Slade before moving back in with his mother in Neath aged 10.
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On the night before his death on January 28, Connor was out until around 9.30pm, but returned home in good spirits and was on his phone, WalesOnline reports.
But a confrontation unfolded after his mum and stepdad, Jason Clark, noticed a bottle of vodka and an aerosol were missing.
The teen "kicked off" and stormed out, even threatening to "jump off a bridge" before leaving again barefoot after coming back to grab his shoes.
His family told police he had made similar threats before and had always come back, so they didn't take it seriously. But Jason went out to search for him and couldn't find him, assistant coroner Paul Bennett explained.
In the early hours of January 29 the couple's friends David "Dai" Morrow and Amy Winslade, who were visiting at the time, left the house together just as Louise was ringing the police to report Connor missing.
Moments later, Louise and Jason heard Amy shriek "Connor, Connor". Dai had seen Connor's body in the playground of nearby Melin Primary.
Jason raced to Connor and attempted mouth to mouth resuscitation in the six minutes before paramedics arrived on the scene. Connor was declared dead shortly afterwards at 3.43am on January 29, DC Danaher told the hearing.
Post mortem results showed minor traces of alcohol and cannabis, but these were not at fatal levels and did not contribute to his death.
Assistant coroner David Bennett recorded a narrative verdict saying the circumstances did not point to Connor intending to take his life.
The coroner said there wasn't anything on the teenager's phone to suggest he intended to end his life intentionally, adding: "History suggests Connor had a quick and violent temper, he found it hard to control. In my view this was not a deliberate act on Connor's part to end his own life. I am not satisfied Connor intended to end his life. Intent cannot be presumed, so I give a narrative conclusion.
"We will never know, but I consider it likely that he had an altercation about missing aerosol and alcohol and Connor's temper got the better of him. Acting on impulse he went to the school and took the step he did thinking someone would come looking for him before it was fatal."
