A teenage boy took his own life after being wrongly accused of stealing the ashes of a dead baby. Kai Lloyd was behaving normally after his arrest on December 11, 2021, his family and head of year said
But just days later he was found hanged in his bedroom of his family home in Dodds Drive, Connah’s Quay, by his father John.
During an inquest held today, his mother Lisa revealed in a statement that she had received a text message from a Chloe Robinson on December 8 asking if she was Kai’s mum.
Ms Robinson then messaged: “Tell him thanks for burgling my flat.”
News of the alleged burglary quickly spread around the small town and made national headlines.
“Kai wasn’t mentioned in the articles but we live in a small community and people knew it was him,” Lisa explained.
She said that as the story spread, Kai, diagnosed with mild ADHD in 2016, was bullied at school and the online posts were deeply distressing, Wales Online reports.
“I know they would have really upset Kai. He cared deeply about other people. He would never hurt anybody.”
Mrs Lloyd insisted that Kai was adamant he hadn’t taken anything from the house. She contacted the police to try to clear things up, but didn’t hear anything back from them in the eight days leading up to his tragic death.
“It would have hurt him deeply that people were saying he had stolen a baby’s ashes, especially when this wasn’t true,” she said.
Sue Messham, Connah Quay High School’s pastoral co-ordinator and his head of year, described Kai as well-liked with “an infectious smile”.
She shared with the inquest that she overheard some boys claiming that Kai had been arrested, but he insisted to her that he was innocent.
“I tried to reassure him that he needed to let the police investigate and the truth would come out,” she stated.
Announcing the news of his death to fellow students at assembly “was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do,” she confessed.
James Forber, the current headteacher, informed the hearing that policies regarding disclosures had been implemented and roles and responsibilities had been clarified.
John Gittins, senior coroner for North Wales East and Central, read a report from North Wales Police on the investigation into the alleged burglary, which declared: “It appears that the said property was not stolen.”
He recorded a narrative conclusion in which, referring to the “unsubstantiated allegations”, he commented: “Likely falsehoods were subsequently embellished and exaggerated through the medium of social media.”
Kai, he noted, had “exhibited no behavioural concerns to his family or his school and gave no indication of any intention to harm himself”.
He further stated: “There is no evidence that the acts or omissions of any agency caused or contributed to his death, and although it was the result of a self-inflicted act it is not possible to discern his intent.”
The coroner announced he would postpone a decision on whether to issue a Prevention of Future Deaths report until North Wales Police could provide information on changes being implemented in their approach to dealing with individuals with ADHD.