🔗 Share this article

Relative's Picture

A teenage youth was found dead only a few days after being falsely accused of stealing the ashes of a dead baby during a burglary, an inquest has heard.

Tragic Finding

Kai Lloyd's mother and father discovered his body in his room at his Flintshire residence on November 19th, 2021.

False Accusations Start

The inquest learned how his parent got a message on 8 November 2021 via online platforms, from a woman inquiring if Kai was her child. The communication stated: "Inform him thanks for burgling my apartment."

In a testimony read to the court, Lisa Lloyd said the woman had been in the news, asserting her baby's remains had been stolen in a burglary - a allegation which was false.

Law Enforcement Investigation

An investigation report from police later concluded the supposed burglary complainant had "lied to police" and "it now appears that the property was not stolen in the first place".

News coverage about the supposed taken ashes attracted online comments, and although Kai was not named in the messages, his parent said individuals "knew it was him".

The "online posts were extremely distressing", she said.

Emotional Health Effect

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

"It would have affected him severely," she said, "particularly when this was untrue".

The teenager was detained at home, but nothing was discovered. He was taken to a law enforcement facility and later freed under investigation.

Authorities said they would be in touch, the hearing learned, but had failed to reached out to the family by the moment of his passing.

Isolation and Worry

His parent said Kai "became isolated" after the arrest and "repeatedly inquired me whether I had heard anything from the police", because his ADHD meant sometimes "certain periods could feel like much longer".

When she spoke to him about the alleged burglary, she said her child told her he had gone into the house because the woman who resided there had said he could use the bathroom anytime he needed, but denied removing anything.

Digital Bullying

In a joint statement between her and her husband, the mother said her child was being bullied online after the allegations.

The proceedings learned that a young adult urged the teenager to kill himself.

She had no worries on the evening before he died, describing how she had heard him "laughing and joking".

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

He had been "clearly concealing his worries", she said, adding that he could not bear to have anybody "have negative thoughts of him".

School Response

The hearing heard from school staff at the local secondary school.

On November 8th, she "heard some boys discussing that Kai had been detained and that was the first I learned".

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

After the conversation, the staff member said she called the family's parents' landline and provided a message saying she had spoken to Kai about the allegations.

The court heard his family said they did not got that message.

Official Finding

Lead coroner informed the hearing he would wait for reports regarding what improvements had been made to handling suspects with the condition, before determining whether he should make a prevention of future fatalities report.

Providing a descriptive finding, he stated: "Around 8 November 2021, unsupported accusations were made against the teenager, a 14-year-old child.

"Probably untruths were subsequently embellished and amplified through the platform of social media.

"During November 11th, he was interviewed by the police and following his interview he was freed while investigations proceeded."

The official concluded: "There is no evidence that the acts or failures of any agency caused or added to his death and although it was the result of a personal action it is impossible to determine his intent."