Police responded that they wouldn't have done anything differently as all resources available in the area that night were allocated to finding Josh. They'd done their job and sighted him to make sure he was safe and were powerless to do anything else."ĭuring the third day of the hearing into his death, a lawyer acting on behalf of Josh's dad grilled the police officers on call that night and asked why certain possible locations where Josh might have been sighted - included the church graveyard at Chiverton near the A30 - were not checked sooner. Nicky Dennis said: "They said there wasn't a lot they could do. It also heard from Josh's foster mum, who he was living with temporarily in Threemilestone at the time of his death, had asked police to intervene as Josh was leaving the house that evening. They said an "anxiety-inducing" family court hearing was clearly weighing on his mind - but that it was often difficult to get the teenager to engage with support services. The inquest has previously heard from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) workers that met with Josh on the day before his death. His final call was made to his foster mum at 00.35am on September 22 and there were no further communications after that. While Mrs Dennis was out searching for him, he also told her "goodbye" in his last sent message at 11.58pm on September 21. Josh had also sent text messages to his foster mum, Mrs Dennis, at around 11.50pm containing suicidal idealisations and telling her, "If you want to know where I am, it's mine and favourite place." It was heard that Josh sent concerning messages on the night he went missing, including one to his girlfriend saying he was sorry and another saying that he was going to miss her. It was said that Josh, from Lanner, near Redruth, purchased a single bus ticket from his foster home in Threemilestone at 11.21pm on September 21, which passed the Chiverton area. The inquest has today heard evidence from Sgt Rafferty, from Devon and Cornwall Police, about Josh's final movements. Get our top stories delivered to your inbox every day. The inquest did however hear that Josh had a large number of support services available to him including a social worker, a targeted youth worker, an experienced foster carer and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) workers. His father described Josh's life as "complicated" saying "he had a lot going on" at the time. It was heard that Josh, 14, had attempted an overdose, left suicidal notes, had been self harming and lost a friend to suicide in the months leading up to that day. Read more: School shuts and pupils sent home after suspected bomb threat A coroner has found that was not the case. He was tragically found dead in Chiverton graveyard in the early hours of the following morning despite all police resources in the area being allocated to the search.ĭuring an inquest held in Truro this week, Josh's father's legal team had raised concerns that various state services could have let Josh down in the lead up to his death. The much-loved and very popular teenager had left his foster home in Threemilestone late on September 21. An inquest into the death of Joshua Day, 14, has concluded today (March 30) following four days of evidence. A "very bright" teen with a "cheeky smile that matched his personality" was not failed by public services, a coroner has found.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |