A teenager died at student digs after ingesting poison in a "tragic and extraordinarily sad case". Matthew O'Reilly's parents said he was the perfect son and his death had ruined their lives.
An inquest heard the 18-year-old had ingested a poisonous substance, which our publications have chosen not to name. He had purchased it online a few weeks before heading off to Salford University to start his degree.
But after not hearing from Matthew for a few days, his concerned parents raised the alarm. As reported by Manchester Evening News, Matthew was found on the floor between his bed and desk on September 25, 2020.
Nick Saunders, accommodation manager at Eddie Colman Courts in Salford, administered CPR while waiting for emergency services. But Matthew was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
Senior Coroner at Bolton Coroners Officer, Timothy Brennand, described how a number of similar cases had all been adjourned to allow police time to conduct enquiries. Detective Inspector Andrew Wright identified a website informing readers how to obtain a suicide kit containing a poison, which can be used legitimately for industry means, which led him to ways the substance was obtained on line.
The court heard how an organisation in Sussex gave Greater Manchester Police 200 names of people who had purchased the substance from them and it transpired 47 people have since taken their own life. A number of others admitted purchasing the poisonous substance to end their lives, but were stopped, and some bought it for legitimate means.
Matthew's name was not on the list and the court heard how he sourced the poison has not been established. Forensic toxicologist Julie Evans said there had been a cluster of reported cases that year and said: "Globally the number has been going up since 2019."
Mr Brennand said: "The company directors of the organisation were not aware of the nefarious use of the (poison)", and added they have now stopped selling the product.
Matthew was from Berryhill and was studying English Literature at Salford University after achieving excellent GCSE and A-Level grades. His mum Anne-Marie said Matthew was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2017 and told the coroner she believed he had been suffering flare-ups but was not opening up about it.
A regular gym-goer, she said Matthew cared about his health. "I think he was having a lot of flare ups but he would not admit it," she said. "He had an emotional wall up and he lost far too much weight doing all this exercise."
Giving evidence, close friend Daniel Poppinger, who met Matthew in 2013 and was at the same sixth form before also going to Salford University, said Matthew was the 'stand out' friend in his friendship group when it came to taking care of his health and fitness. Matthew did not touch alcohol or drugs, he said.
Matthew was a very keen runner, getting "fitter and fitter" and was preoccupied with preparing nutritional meals, said Daniel.
"He was a bit self-conscious about his looks but nobody though he had a reason to be - everybody thought he was great,." He added that Matthew "may have been slightly anxious but not to concern level".
Mr Brennand said he was satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that Matthew had deliberately ingested the poison. However, he said he bore in mind there was no text message, no contact with Matthew's parents, no self harm and no suicidal ideology.
"There is nothing that can indicate to me what his intentions were," he said. "He was from a close family and looked up to his older sister. He was blossoming in life and moving into a life of independence in what is an exciting time in a young persons life, but can also be daunting.
"He was looking forward to the events of the unfolding year. There is a sparsity of evidence and he had much more to live for than to die for. This is a tragic and extraordinarily sad case."
He returned a narrative conclusion saying: "I record Matthew died as a consequence of a deliberate act of recent self ingestion of an unknown quantity of (the substance) in circumstances in which his intention remains unclear."
Matthew's mum told the Manchester Evening News she cried every night for her son and would "never learn to live with his death". She said it "ruined my life too," adding, "he was the perfect son". His father said: "He was a wonderful boy."
