pupil drowned in a pond in Epping Forest however thriller surrounds how he got here to be within the water, with an inquest recording an open conclusion.
Richard Okorogheye, 19, was present in Wake Valley Pond in Essex on April 5 2021, two weeks after he went lacking from his house in Ladbroke Grove, west London, on the night of March 22.
Essex space coroner Sean Horstead stated he was happy on the stability of possibilities that Mr Okorogheye died on March 23 earlier than he was reported lacking, primarily based on info together with the final exercise of his cellphone.
Pc science pupil Mr Okorogheye, who was enrolled at Oxford Brookes College, had sickle cell anaemia.
He left the block of flats the place he lived at 8.34pm on March 22, 2021 whereas his mom was on an evening shift as a nurse, the listening to in Chelmsford was informed.
He took a bus to a store to purchase rum, wine and cigarettes, then visited the tackle of a feminine intercourse employee the place he paid £300 for 2 one-hour periods.
The girl, who police spoke to, stated that Mr Okorogheye didn’t have full intercourse however had a therapeutic massage and was ingesting on the premises.
She stated the coed was “in good spirits” and stated he would name his mom whereas in a minicab on the way in which house, the coroner stated.
Mr Okorogheye left the tackle at 11.36pm and took a minicab to Loughton in Essex, the place he was dropped close to the Victoria Tavern pub.
Driver Mohammed Halas stated his passenger “appeared effectively, didn’t have interaction in dialog, simply sat behind the automotive listening to one thing on his earphones”, the coroner stated.
Mr Halas stated the journey took round one hour and he dropped off his fare at 12.29am.
The coroner stated: “We are going to sadly by no means know why he was in Epping and why he walked to that vacation spot.
“We may also not know the way he discovered himself within the water.
“We’re within the realms of hypothesis.
“It’s attainable he tripped and fell.”
The means by which the deceased got here to be within the water couldn’t be ascertained
He continued: “What we do know from the proof is he wasn’t a swimmer, didn’t like water and inspired his mom to facilitate him not having to do swimming classes.
“It provides to the thriller of how he discovered himself on the sting of this small lake and located himself tragically and fatally within the waters.”
He stated he had “no hesitation of coming to the conclusion there’s no third-party involvement on this case”.
The coroner stated it appeared from the proof that Mr Okorogheye, who was referred to on the inquest as Richard Christian on the request of relations who attended, “wasn’t notably having fun with (his college) course and wasn’t notably getting on effectively with it”.
He stated there was no proof to recommend Mr Okorogheye had needed to take his personal life.
Recording an open conclusion, Mr Horstead stated Mr Okorogheye died within the early hours of March 23 2021 when he entered Wake Valley Pond and drowned.
“The means by which the deceased got here to be within the water couldn’t be ascertained,” he stated.
He praised the “energy and fortitude” of the coed’s mom Proof Joel and supplied his “most honest condolences”.
The coroner stated he had heard from representatives of the Met Police concerning lacking individual investigations.
He stated there had been “classes to be discovered” however that steps had already been taken, together with reminders to a few of these concerned of their tasks, and he was informed of plans for a centralised hub for susceptible lacking individual instances, as a consequence of be energetic by the top of 2023.
He indicated that primarily based on what he had heard, he wouldn’t be writing a report for the prevention of future deaths.
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