Latest news with #WakefieldCoroner'sCourt
Metro
3 days ago
- Health
- Metro
Teacher fixated on baldness killed himself after using unlicensed hair loss drug
A teacher obsessed with not going bald killed himself after switching to an unlicensed drug to treat his hair loss, an inquest heard. Sam Applegarth, 31, who had no history of mental health problems, ended his life in Dubai after starting an online prescription course of dutasteride, which is not licensed for hair loss in the UK. The PE teacher, who had first sought help for his hair loss aged 22, had used British National Formulary (BNF) drugs minoxidil and finasteride for years without any side effects. The inquest heard that there are no known 'suicidal ideation' side effects from taking dutasteride – a drug primarily used to treat an enlarged prostate – because there has been a failure to report such feelings in men taking the drug. Today, Sam's heartbroken girlfriend Anya Guy, 30, urged anybody having suicidal thoughts due to taking dutasteride to inform medical experts and hopefully prevent any further deaths. Sam was brought up in Outwood, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and after working for the Rugby Football League took up teaching science and PE at Minsthorpe High School. Wakefield Coroner's Court heard that he had been concerned about losing his hair since 2015, and visited Dr Bessam Farjo at his trichology clinic in Manchester. Dr Farjo told the hearing that Sam visited for consultations and advice but was never prescribed any drugs. He said he was aware that Sam had started taking minoxidil, which is easily available over the counter at Boots, and later complemented with doses of finasteride. Dr Farjo told coroner Oliver Longstaff that Sam had 'self-sourced' those drugs and both he and Sam had been happy with their effects. In 2017, Sam underwent a successful hair transplant at the Farjo Hair Institute, in Manchester. In regular follow-up consultations Sam informed the doctor that, elsewhere, he had undergone platelet-rich plasma treatment, where a concentrated portion of his own blood was injected in a bid to rejuvenate his hair. He had also had his head tattooed to give the appearance of hair, in a process called scalp micro pigmentation. 'He was happy with the overall appearance after the tattoo,' Dr Farjo told the inquest. Sam last saw Dr Farjo in July 2024, two months before he flew to Dubai. He reported still taking minoxidil and finasteride tablets, which he had sourced himself. He was also using camouflage products to conceal his hair loss and the doctor suggested cognitive therapy to alleviate Sam's anxiety about going bald. 'He was a young man with an exaggerated view about how big an issue his hair loss was,' said the doctor. 'I had no concerns he was having any side effects from the drugs.' He stated that 'suicidal ideation' is one recognised side effect of taking finasteride, but if a patient had not experienced those thoughts whilst on the drug they would not suffer those after the drug is out of their system. Dr Farjo said he was unaware Sam had begun taking dutasteride, which he described as 'more powerful' than finasteride. He said the known side effects of both drugs are the same, apart from finasteride has been reported by the BNF to cause suicidal ideation. Dr Farjo acknowledged, under questioning from Ms Guy, there may be an underreporting of suicidal ideation by patients following a course of dutasteride. 'Dutasteride is not licensed for hair loss in this country, and it is not commonly prescribed,' he said. 'The reason the BNF suicide ideation is not mentioned for dutasteride is because it has not been reported, whereas it has been reported for finasteride.' Dr Farjo said that it would have been easy to access a course of dutasteride himself. He said numerous private medical supply companies are 'sprouting up' to prescribe drugs to patients, without seeing them in person. Ms Guy told the inquest that Sam had moved to Dubai to teach in August, last year, with a view to her joining him at a later date. She said he had 'struggled at times with his self-esteem' due to his perceived hair loss, but she felt his condition was not a bad as he believed. His GP and family told the inquest Sam had no history of mental illness or self-harm he was a 'bright and happy individual'. He appeared to be thriving in Dubai, enjoying swims, the gym and getting in more than 20,000 steps a day. However, he was found dead in his apartment by a work colleague on 19 September – just five weeks after arriving in Dubai. More Trending He left no suicide note and a post-mortem found no alcohol or drugs in his system. Following Coroner Longstaff's finding of 'suicide', Ms Guy said outside court that she hoped people who may be suffering suicidal thoughts whilst taking dutasteride to come forward. She said: 'People feeling by side effects with dutasteride should report them, especially if they are feeling suicidal. 'People need to be aware that they may be having suicidal ideation because of the drug.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Our daughter was crushed to death by a hotel wardrobe – we still haven't got answers MORE: Soldier was 'degraded' by superior officers before being found dead in barracks MORE: Police officer died 'after being struck by train while helping man on railway'
BBC News
14-04-2025
- BBC News
Karen O'Leary's daughter brands her killer 'monster' in disguise
The loved ones of a woman killed by her estranged partner have condemned her murderer as a "monster disguising himself as a husband". Karen O'Leary was stabbed more than 60 times at her Leeds home on 25 April 2024, about seven weeks after she had left her husband, Dennis O'Leary, and asked him for "space". An inquest on Monday concluded that Mr O'Leary, 61, had taken his own life by causing an explosion at the property, after he had dragged his 63-year-old wife's body upstairs and laid next to her on the a statement after the hearing, Mrs O'Leary's daughter, Louise Staveley, and friend Anne-Marie Friel, said Mr O'Leary would have "died behind bars" had he lived. The inquest heard how internet searches on Mr O'Leary's phone, dating from 3 February that year, included disposal of a body and methods of Sgt Bethany Smith, of West Yorkshire Police, who led the investigation into the deaths, said the searches showed an "element of pre-planning" and that "he was considering ending Karen's life". In a joint statement issued after the Wakefield Coroner's Court inquest, Ms Friel and Mrs Staveley said: "Dennis O'Leary lured Karen to the house where he had meticulously planned her brutal murder."Dennis can only ever be known as a narcissistic murdering monster disguising himself as a husband, dad and one of the lads. "No-one had a clue what level of violence he was capable of, had he lived he would have died behind bars for pre-meditated murder."The inquest heard that Mrs O'Leary, who had married Mr O'Leary in 2011, had left the Oakwood home the couple shared to stay with her Sgt Smith said that phone messages showed him being "derogatory" towards his wife before their split. After their break-up, he continued to contact her, despite her requesting he did not, and that his messages became "more intense" as the weeks progressed. Det Sgt Smith said the former upholsterer and printing technician had branded his wife a liar and "appeared to be very controlling". He seemed "unwilling to accept her decision to end the relationship and leave the address," she evidence read to the court showed Mr O'Leary had confessed anger management issues to health professionals on more than one occasion during their marriage. It was said that while he insisted he was not violent, he had admitted in 2017 "grabbing" his wife's arms on two occasions during arguments. It was said before the incident Mr O'Leary was seen filling up a petrol canister, which was found by officers the inquest was told Mrs O'Leary had agreed to meet her former husband on the day of her death to discuss their "next steps" and that her daughter raised the alarm when she did not return as statement from her daughter and friend added: "The only positive in this horrendous time is knowing he is rotting in hell exactly where he belongs."Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
