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Personal Snapshot

A 14-year-old youth was discovered deceased only a few days following being wrongly blamed of stealing the ashes of a deceased baby during a break-in, a coroner's inquiry has learned.

Heartbreaking Finding

The young boy's mother and father discovered his remains in his room at his Flintshire residence on November 19th, 2021.

False Allegations Start

The inquest learned how his mother received a communication on November 8th, 2021 via online platforms, from a individual inquiring if Kai was her offspring. The message added: "Tell him thanks for burgling my flat."

In a statement read to the court, Lisa Lloyd said the woman had been in the media, claiming her infant's remains had been stolen in a break-in - a claim which was false.

Law Enforcement Inquiry

An investigation report from police later determined the supposed break-in complainant had "lied to police" and "evidence shows that the items was not taken in the beginning".

News coverage about the supposed taken ashes attracted online responses, and although the teenager was not identified in the posts, his mother said people "understood it was him".

The "social media content were really distressing", she stated.

Emotional Wellbeing Effect

She added that her son had been diagnosed with moderate attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and as part of that disorder, other individuals' opinions genuinely mattered to him.

"This must have hurt him deeply," she said, "particularly when this was untrue".

Kai was arrested at his residence, but nothing was found. He was taken to a police station and later freed pending further inquiry.

Police said they would be in contact, the inquest heard, but had not reached out to the relatives by the time of his passing.

Withdrawal and Anxiety

His mother said her son "withdrew into himself" after the detention and "repeatedly inquired me whether I had received anything from the authorities", because his condition meant sometimes "certain periods could seem like days".

When she talked to him about the supposed burglary, she said her son informed her he had entered the house because the resident who lived there had said he could use the bathroom whenever he needed, but denied removing anything.

Online Bullying

In a joint statement between her and her husband, Mrs Lloyd said her child was being harassed digitally after the allegations.

The proceedings learned that one 19-year-old urged the teenager to kill himself.

She had no concerns on the evening before he passed away, explaining how she had heard him "chuckling and joking".

She described him as a "compassionate, loving" boy, and said her "family is completely shattered".

He had been "clearly concealing his worries", she said, noting that he could not bear to have anybody "think bad of him".

School Reaction

The hearing received testimony from educational personnel at Connah's Quay High School.

On November 8th, she "heard some boys talking that Kai had been arrested and that was the initial I heard".

"He told me... he'd was innocent," she continued.

After the discussion, the educator said she called Kai's parents' telephone and left a voicemail saying she had communicated to the student about the accusations.

The proceedings heard his family said they never receive that message.

Official Finding

Senior coroner told the hearing he would wait for documents regarding what improvements had been made to dealing with individuals with ADHD, before deciding whether he should make a avoidance of subsequent fatalities report.

Delivering a descriptive finding, he said: "Approximately November 8th, 2021, unsubstantiated allegations were made against the teenager, a 14-year-old child.

"Likely falsehoods were subsequently embellished and exaggerated through the medium of online networks.

"On 11 November, he was interviewed by the police and following his questioning he was freed while inquiries continued."

The coroner determined: "There is no proof that the actions or omissions of any organization led to or contributed to his death and although it was the outcome of a personal action it is impossible to determine his purpose."