A-level student, 17, made his family a five-minute ‘suicide’ video explaining why he was going to kill himself before standing in front of a train
- ‘Exceedingly intelligent’ Joel Langford was ‘worried about his future’ after GCSEs
- 17-year-old was also upset after he was turned down for a job at Costa Coffee
- Teenager appeared ‘happy’ before recording 5-minute goodbye video to family
- Mother said Joel had autism which manifested in an obsession about cleanliness
Joel Langford, 17, took his own life in March because he was worried about his future, an inquest heard
An ‘exceedingly intelligent’ child genius made a five minute ‘suicide’ video for his family before standing in front of a train, an inquest heard today.
Joel Langford scored top grades in his GCSE exams but was worried about what the future held for him after leaving Great Marlow School, Buckinghamshire.
The 17-year-old, who was ‘lonely’ after being bullied by his fellow pupils, was also upset when he was turned down for a job at Costa Coffee.
Pupils at school called Joel ‘weird’, ‘loser’ and a ‘r****d’, his mother revealed.
On March 18 Joel recorded a video on his mobile phone, explaining to his family why he was committing suicide before standing in front of a train.
Joel’s mother Susan Langford told an inquest into his death in Beaconsfield how her son was a ‘challenging child’ obsessed with personal hygiene and felt lonely after classmates moved to different countries or new schools.
The youngster had achieved the top grades for his GCSE’s in science and maths, despite being diagnosed with severe dyslexia from a young age. But he ‘started to feel the pressure’ after starting A-levels in maths, physics and chemistry.
Ms Langford said her high-functioning autistic son’s condition ‘worsened’ after he started A-levels as ‘it dawned on him that he had an uncertain future.’
She told the inquest: ‘He has faced a lot of rejection in his life, namely at Costa which let him go after a trial shift, for not multi-tasking and a local explorer group – where the most of his social interaction came from – forcing him out for his behaviour, which I challenged.
‘He did not like change and he had some worries about what was coming after sixth form. He had become obsessed about hygiene, unable to wear certain clothes if he felt they would get dirty.
‘Ironically, on the day of his death we thought that problem was over as he wore a jumper he had refused to wear before. However, we later found out that he had taken it off and left it on a nearby gate before the accident.’
Joel scored top grades in his GCSE exams but was worried about what the future held for him after leaving Great Marlow School in Buckinghamshire (pictured)
Senior mental health practitioner Dr Anoushka Bheekha told the hearing Joel’s issues with contamination made him feel ‘unpleasant, dry and clammy.’
She added: ‘He appeared angry and frustrated when talking about warts and verrucas. He said he had caught warts off his mother who walked around the house barefoot.
‘He avoided sitting on the sofa and refrained from touching anyone after he had had his shower and his mother had found him sleeping on the floor of his bedroom because he said his bed did not feel clean.’
Around 8.25am on the morning he died, Joel rang a friend telling her ‘he did not want to continue living and he wanted her to live a happy life’.
The only witness to his death was train driver Richard Woodley, who had only qualified six months earlier. He was working the early morning shift on the single track journey from Marlow to Bourne End when he spotted Joel.
He told the inquest: ‘At around 9.10am we were travelling at 40mph. As the crossing came into sight I saw a male run out from the left hand side from the trees. I did not see anyone else with him.
‘I thought he was just running across the crossing as many people do, but I put on the emergency brake which cannot be undone until the train has completely stopped. I looked away as the train ran over the male. This was clearly an intentional act.’
Senior coroner Mr Butler, recording a conclusion of suicide, said: ‘The medical cause of death was a single trauma injury by train collision.
‘Joel has explained that it was what he wanted to do and all the evidence corroborates that. He died instantly and there was never any life-saving opportunity. There is a significant amount of evidence that confirms Joel’s intentions.’
Senior coroner Mr Butler, recording a conclusion of suicide, said: ‘The medical cause of death was a single trauma injury by train collision.
‘Joel has explained that it was what he wanted to do and all the evidence corroborates that. He died instantly and there was never any life saving opportunity. There is a significant amount of evidence that confirms Joel’s intentions.’
- For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, or see samaritans.org for details.
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