Legacy Matters

"The saddest story I have ever come across" says coroner

Devastated schoolboy, eight, hanged himself after deaths of his mother and grandfather

An eight-year-old boy devastated after the deaths of his mother and grandfather hanged himself with his school tie in his bedroom.

In a case the coroner described as 'the saddest story I have ever come across' in a 20-year career, the inquest heard how Joshua Aldred was heartbroken after losing both his mother and grandfather to cancer within a year.

Joshua was still struggling with the death of his grandfather, John, when his mother Sarah, 42, died in March after battling breast cancer, the inquest also heard.

His father Jason, 41, who has lost his father, wife and only child within ten months, said he thought Joshua had been adjusting.

In a statement, Mr Aldred said he last saw his son alive before he left for work that morning. He said: ‘I know he missed his mum’s hugs and he had done a drawing of her in his Manchester United notebook which was put next to his bed.

He added: ‘I didn’t notice any change after Sarah had died. He was just a normal, happy, well-adjusted little boy.’

I imagine father, grandmother and son all beset by grief and each trying to act as normal for the others. 

Blackpool coroner Anne Hind recorded a verdict of misadventure, saying 'it was an intended act with unintended consequences.'

She said: 'He did intend to hang himself, but in law he did not in fact for a minute intend the consequences of his actions, not for a minute.

'This is a terrible, terrible tragedy. I cannot tell you how my heart has gone out to you and how I have prayed for you.'

They all need prayers.