A man was tragically found dead in a park less than 500 metres from where he was reported missing a week before.
John Winterton's body had been discovered by police in a wooded area of Wythenshawe Park on August 25 2021, surrounded by heartbreaking handwritten letters to his family.
The 26-year-old had been reported missing six days before by his partner, Brittany Bennett, after he had failed to return home from a night at his sister’s house. His disappearance sparked a major police investigation before his body was eventually found.
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An inquest at Manchester Coroner’s Court today (May 30) heard that John been to stay at his sister Victoria’s house, on nearby Sale Road, on the evening of August 17, 2021. He spent the night there, where he drank alcohol and smoked cannabis.
However the following morning, on August 18, his sister and dad - also called John - noticed the back door was ajar and that he was no longer in bed.
In a statement read out to court, his sister said John was his ‘normal self’ and ‘did not seem out of character’ that evening and that he had drunk alcohol and smoked ‘a couple of joints’. She added that he had been making plans to help her clean her garden and take his niece and nephew to Trafford Park the following week.
The court heard that he went to bed at around 3.30am on August 18. At 5.27am, his sister woke up and noticed the back door was slightly open and closed it before going back to sleep.
Later that morning, at between 10am and 11am, his sister and dad noticed John’s bike was still there but that he had gone.
The 26-year-old, who lived on Yew Tree Lane in Wythenshawe, was reported as missing by girlfriend Brittany the next morning, August 19, after concerns when he had still not returned home.
Police initially conducted CCTV investigations nearby and took statements from his family, also conducting door-to-door enquiries. At the time, he was recorded as being of medium risk, the court was told.
Police with search dogs scoured Chorlton Water Park on August 19 but did not find John. The next day his status was changed to high-risk missing person.
On August 23 and 25, after John had later been identified as high-risk, house to house enquiries and searches were completed within a 300 metre radius of his sister’s house.
Police cadaver dogs were deployed once more for an extended search that included Wythenshawe Park. On August 25, John was found deceased in a wooded area between 400 and 500 metres away from where he was reported missing on nearby Sale Road.
John's body could have been found five days earlier, court hears
Giving evidence, DCI Chris Maddocks confirmed there were a number of items found at the scene, including John’s damaged mobile phone, his driver's licence, a jacket, baseball cap and four empty bottles of Budweiser. On his person, handwritten letters dated from the month of July were also found.
The court heard that enquiries were never carried out to determine whether the empty bottles of beer or jacket actually belonged to John.
After John’s death, a referral was made to the IOPC (Independent Office of Police Conduct) by GMP’s Professional Standards Branch.
The court heard from Matthew-Lloyd Evans, an independent investigator, who raised concerns about ‘raw mobile phone data’ not being used by the police at an earlier stage to determine a more precise location for his phone and predicted that John could have been found ‘on day two’ had this have been the case.
Coroner Andrew Bridgman commented that it therefore could have saved the family ‘five more days of turmoil’ but that it would not have changed the eventual outcome.
A previous pre-inquest review hearing, held before Area Coroner Zak Golombek, heard that John had a history of mental health issues. On Tuesday (May 30) assistant coroner Andrew Bridgman heard that the 26-year-old had previously been to his GP repeatedly about his low mood, anxiety and depression, and that he had a history of alcohol and drug use.
The inquest heard that John, who also used cocaine and smoked cannabis, had first called his GP in January 2020 regarding his mental health. Between then and August 16 - nine days before he was discovered dead - John had a number of assessments by doctors where he was prescribed with medication such as propranolol, sertraline and fluoxetine.
He had a number of appointments where he described feeling ‘depressed and anxious’ and was having ‘difficulty sleeping’. In April of 2020, the court heard he told his GP “I have tablets in my room in case I want to kill myself” but later that week said he had no thoughts of self-harm or suicide and had discarded the tablets.
In July 2020, the court heard John was then taken into A&E following an intentional overdose of tablets, after also consuming alcohol and cocaine. In October 2020 the court heard he told a GP he would be ‘better off not alive’ and had searched suicidal methods on Google.
'The loss of a child is a pain no parent should bear'
A post-mortem examination was carried out on September 7, that noted his medical cause of death as hanging. A toxicology report could not determine whether alcohol or drugs were implicated in his death.
His time of death could not be precisely identified, but a pathologist concluded he would have died more than 24 hours before he was found and that a longer period, up to eight days, was ‘plausible’.
Drawing a conclusion of suicide, coroner Andrew Bridgman said it was likely that John had left his sister’s house on Sale Road at some point between 4am and 5.27am and had then travelled to Wythenshawe Park where he then intended to take his own life.
“The loss of a child is a pain no parent should ever bear,” he said as he addressed John’s family in court.
“Police found three letters in his possession. I have read these letters and am satisfied he intended to end his own life. It is clear he was experiencing some mental turmoil.”
Following his death, Brittany paid tribute to her boyfriend John, who would do 'anything and everything for anyone'. She said: “I just want him home, he was my first real proper love, I want to add more memories to our memory list.
“John always wore his heart on his sleeve, he’d do anything and everything for anyone. There was never a dull moment around him at all."
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