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Personal Snapshot

A 14-year-old youth was discovered deceased just days following being falsely accused of stealing the cremated remains of a deceased infant during a burglary, a coroner's inquiry has heard.

Tragic Discovery

The young boy's mother and father found his remains in his room at his Connah's Quay home on 19 November 2021.

Untrue Allegations Begin

The investigation learned how his mother received a message on November 8th, 2021 via social media, from a individual asking if Kai was her offspring. The communication stated: "Inform him appreciation for burgling my apartment."

In a statement read to the proceedings, Lisa Lloyd said the woman had been in the media, asserting her infant's remains had been taken in a break-in - a claim which was false.

Law Enforcement Investigation

An official inquiry from authorities later concluded the alleged break-in victim had "provided false information" and "it now appears that the property was never taken in the first place".

News coverage about the alleged stolen remains generated social media comments, and although Kai was not named in the messages, his mother said individuals "knew it was him".

The "social media content were extremely distressing", she said.

Mental Wellbeing Impact

She explained that her son had been identified with mild ADHD, and as part of that disorder, other peoples' views really mattered to him.

"It would have hurt him deeply," she said, "especially when this was untrue".

Kai was detained at home, but nothing was found. He was transported to a police station and later released under investigation.

Police said they would be in touch, the inquest learned, but had failed to contacted the family by the moment of his death.

Isolation and Worry

His parent said Kai "withdrew into himself" after the arrest and "would keep asking me whether I had received anything from the police", because his condition meant sometimes "a minute could feel like days".

When she spoke to him about the supposed incident, she said her son told her he had entered the residence because the resident who resided there had said he could use the bathroom whenever he wanted, but denied taking anything.

Digital Bullying

In a joint statement between her and her spouse, the mother said her son was being bullied digitally after the accusations.

The proceedings learned that one young adult urged the teenager to kill himself.

She had no concerns on the evening before he died, explaining how she had listened to him "chuckling and teasing".

She portrayed him as a "compassionate, affectionate" young man, and said her "relatives is completely devastated".

He had been "obviously concealing his worries", she said, adding that he could not stand to have anybody "think bad of him".

School Response

The inquest received testimony from educational personnel at the local secondary school.

On November 8th, she "heard some boys talking that the student had been detained and that was the initial I learned".

"He told me... he'd done nothing wrong," she continued.

After the conversation, the educator said she rang the family's parents' landline and left a message saying she had spoken to Kai about the allegations.

The court learned his parents said they never got that message.

Official Conclusion

Senior coroner told the inquest he would await documents regarding what improvements had been made to dealing with individuals with the condition, before deciding whether he should make a avoidance of future fatalities report.

Providing a narrative finding, he said: "Around 8 November 2021, unsupported allegations were made against Kai Benjamin Lloyd, a 14-year-old child.

"Likely falsehoods were afterwards embellished and amplified through the medium of online networks.

"During 11 November, he was interviewed by the police and after his interview he was freed while inquiries proceeded."

The official concluded: "Exists no evidence that the acts or omissions of any organization led to or contributed to his death and although it was the result of a personal action it is impossible to determine his purpose."