Friday, October 31, 2025 - An inquest has heard how a 14-year-old schoolboy killed himself after being falsely accused of stealing a baby's ashes.
Kai Lloyd's father, John, found his son's body in his
bedroom at the family home in Dodds Drive, Connah's Quay on November
19, 2021, just eight days after his arrest.
The inquest in Ruthin heard that Kai's mother Lisa Lloyd,
received a text message on November 8 from a woman named Chloe Robinson, asking
if she was Kai's mother.
Mrs Lloyd said Ms Robinson then wrote: "Tell him thanks
for burgling my flat."
Ms Robinson had told the media her deceased baby's ashes had
been stolen in a burglary, a claim that was untrue but spread quickly on social
media and appeared in the national press.
"Kai wasn't mentioned in the articles but we live in a
small community and people knew it was him," Mrs Lloyd said.
She told the inquest that as the online posts spread, Kai,
who had been diagnosed with mild ADHD in 2016, was bullied at
school, Wales Online reports.
"I know they would have really upset Kai. He cared deeply about other
people. He would never hurt anybody," she said. "It would have hurt
him deeply that people were saying he had stolen a baby's ashes, especially
when this wasn't true."
Mrs Lloyd said Kai was adamant he had not taken anything
from the house and that she contacted police to clear things up, but heard
nothing from them in the eight days before his de@th.
The school's pastoral coordinator and head of year. Sue
Messham, said Kai was well-liked and had "an infectious smile". She
told the inquest she overheard some boys saying Kai had been arrested and that
he told her he had done nothing wrong.
"I tried to reassure him that he needed to let the
police investigate and the truth would come out," she said.
Breaking the news of Kai's de@th to fellow pupils during
assembly "was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to
do", she added.
The current headteacher, James Forber, told the hearing that
policies regarding disclosures had since been introduced and that 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 stated that the alleged burglary victim had
"lied to police" and that it "appears that said property was
never stolen in the first place".
Recording a narrative conclusion, the coroner referred to
the "unsubstantiated allegations" and said: "Likely falsehoods
were subsequently embellished and exaggerated through the medium of social
media."
Mr Gittins said Kal "exhibited no behavioural concerns
to his family or his school and gave no indication of any intention to harm
himself".
He added: "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 said he would defer a decision on whether to
issue a Prevention of Future Deaths report to North Wales Police while awaiting
details on how the force plans to handle cases involving people with ADHD.
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