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A 14-year-old youth was found dead only a few days after being wrongly accused of stealing the cremated remains of a deceased infant during a break-in, a coroner's inquiry has heard.

Heartbreaking Discovery

Kai Lloyd's mother and father discovered his body in his bedroom at his Connah's Quay home on 19 November 2021.

Untrue Allegations Start

The inquest learned how his parent got a communication on 8 November 2021 via social media, from a individual asking if Kai was her child. The communication added: "Tell him thanks for breaking into my apartment."

In a statement presented to the court, the mother said the individual had been in the media, asserting her infant's ashes had been taken in a burglary - a claim which was untrue.

Police Investigation

An official inquiry from police later determined the supposed burglary complainant had "lied to police" and "it now appears that the items was never taken in the first place".

Media reports about the alleged taken remains attracted social media responses, and although Kai was not named in the messages, his parent said individuals "understood it was him".

The "social media content were really distressing", she stated.

Emotional Health Effect

She explained that her son had been diagnosed with moderate ADHD, and as part of that condition, other individuals' views really mattered to him.

"It would have affected him severely," she said, "particularly when this was not true".

Kai was detained at home, but nothing was found. He was taken to a law enforcement facility and later released pending further inquiry.

Police said they would be in touch, the hearing learned, but had not contacted the family by the moment of his passing.

Withdrawal and Anxiety

His mother said Kai "became isolated" after the arrest and "would keep asking me whether I had heard anything from the authorities", because his ADHD meant sometimes "a minute could seem like days".

When she spoke to him about the alleged incident, she said her child told her he had entered the house because the resident who lived there had said he could use the toilet whenever he wanted, but refuted taking anything.

Online Harassment

In a combined testimony between her and her husband, Mrs Lloyd said her son was being harassed online after the allegations.

The proceedings heard that one 19-year-old encouraged Kai to end his life.

She had no concerns on the night before he died, describing how she had heard him "laughing and teasing".

She portrayed him as a "caring, loving" young man, and said her "family is completely devastated".

He had been "clearly hiding his worries", she said, noting that he could not stand to have anybody "have negative thoughts of him".

School Reaction

The inquest received testimony from school staff at Connah's Quay High School.

On November 8th, she "overheard some students talking that the student had been arrested and that was the first I learned".

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

After the conversation, the staff member said she rang Kai's parents' telephone and left a voicemail saying she had communicated to the student about the allegations.

The court learned his parents said they did not got that communication.

Official Conclusion

Lead investigator informed the hearing he would wait for documents regarding what improvements had been made to handling suspects with the condition, before deciding whether he should make a prevention of future deaths report.

Delivering a narrative conclusion, he said: "Around 8 November 2021, unsubstantiated allegations were made against Kai Benjamin Lloyd, a young child.

"Probably untruths were afterwards exaggerated and exaggerated through the platform of social media.

"During November 11th, he was questioned by the police and following his interview he was released whilst inquiries continued."

The coroner determined: "There is no evidence that the actions or failures of any agency led to or added to his death and although it was the outcome of a self-inflicted action it is impossible to determine his intent."