A 26-year-old who had been named Darlington's 'Young Citizen of the Year' sent a heartbreaking final text to his flatmate before taking his own life at his student accommodation.
James Charlton was found by a dog walker outside an address in London on January 26, 2022. An inquest into his death on Tuesday heard he had been arguing with his flatmate after a night out in Soho about him bringing someone else back to their home in Woolwich.
The King's College student sent a text at 4am, two hours before his death, which read 'When you return I will be gone'. He later said: 'I'm gone'. CCTV footage showed that he fell from the balcony with no one else in shot.
Despite paramedics best efforts, he was pronounced dead at 7.02am. Toxicology reports found he was sober of drugs and alcohol at the time of his death.
James was not known to the local mental health service in East London at the time, but had attended his GP five months prior to his death describing feelings or depression, MyLondon reports.
His parents, Steve and Carol, said they felt James's decision to take his life was 'impulsive'. He was described by parents as someone with huge emotional empathy for others who will be 'missed always'.
In a statement from his parents, read by Coroner Mr Xavier Mooyaart to London Inner South Coroner's Court, they said: "He had so many friends and was held in very high regard by them and his work colleagues.
"James was a person of very high intellect and had huge emotional empathy for other people. He also possessed a great sense of social justice and cared deeply for others. He rarely took any time for himself and was constantly busy with work, refereeing and volunteering. He was a trusted confidant. Although there can be no doubt that James intended to take his own life, we believe this was an impulsive decision. A decision that has left his whole family bereft. James will be missed always."
His parents added that James had been upset in the month prior to his death as he was unable to return to their family home in Middlesbrough for Christmas, due to contracting Covid. They added that his mental health was affected when both his grandparents passed away during the pandemic and James was unable to attend their joint funeral.
His parents added: "We are not sure that James recovered completely from [Covid] before he resumed his heavy schedule of work and other commitments. We were very much looking forward to seeing James as planned in early February 2022. And we know he was looking forward to that, as he had told friends and colleagues about the trip the evening before."
James, who was born in Middlesbrough, on was honoured for his outstanding voluntary work on behalf of his beloved football club, Darlington FC, in 2013. He was named the town's Young Citizen of the Year in recognition of his fundraising efforts after Darlington FC went into administration.
When the club went into administration in 2012, James threw himself into organising bucket collections. He also organised the ball boys' rota, cleared litter from the terraces after matches, cleaned the dressing room, and helped sell memorabilia on the club's market stall.
James was also a qualified referee, having started his training at 15, and officiated in youth leagues on Teesside. He carried on refereeing after moving to London, and served in the Camden and Islington youth leagues, where he was also fixtures secretary and referees secretary.
The coroner listed James Charlton's death as suicide, with a cause of death as 'Multiple Injuries' caused by the fall. Coroner Mr Xavier Mooyaart added: "James was described to me as a much loved member of his family and someone with great intellect and great empathy.
"He had had been known to take a few impulsive decisions in the past. On this occasion, he went to Central London with his flatmate and whilst there became upset at the prospect that his flatmate intended to return home later with another person.
"When it was clear he was going to return with company James said he would be gone. He also sent a message that he intended to jump off the balcony. The evidence was that he did return home and CCTV showed he did deliberately fell from balcony. It was deemed non-suspicious".
The coroner passed on his condolences to James' family and friends.
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