A pupil drowned in a pond in Epping Forest however thriller surrounds how he got here to be in the water, with an inquest recording an open conclusion.
Richard Okorogheye, 19, was found in Wake Valley Pond in Essex on April 5 2021, two weeks after he went missing from his dwelling in Ladbroke Grove, west London, on the night of March 22.
Essex space coroner Sean Horstead stated he was happy on the steadiness of chances that Mr Okorogheye died on March 23 earlier than he was reported missing, 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 instructed.
He took a bus to a store to purchase rum, wine and cigarettes, then visited the deal with of a feminine intercourse employee the place he paid £300 for 2 one-hour periods.
The lady, who police spoke to, stated that Mr Okorogheye didn’t have full intercourse however had a therapeutic massage and was consuming on the premises.
She stated the coed was “in good spirits” and stated he would name his mom whereas in a minicab on the best way dwelling, the coroner stated.
Mr Okorogheye left the deal with 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 interact in dialog, simply sat in the again of the automobile 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’ll 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 found himself in the water.
“We’re in the realms of hypothesis.
“It’s attainable he tripped and fell.”
The means by which the deceased got here to be in the water couldn’t be ascertained
Essex space coroner Sean Horstead
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 found himself on the sting of this small lake and found himself tragically and fatally in the waters.”
He stated he had “no hesitation of coming to the conclusion there’s no third-party involvement in 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 members of the family who attended, “wasn’t significantly having fun with (his college) course and wasn’t significantly getting on effectively with it”.
He stated there was no proof to recommend Mr Okorogheye had wished to take his personal life.
Recording an open conclusion, Mr Horstead stated Mr Okorogheye died in 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 in the water couldn’t be ascertained,” he stated.
He praised the “power 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 missing particular person investigations.
He stated there had been “classes to be discovered” however that steps had already been taken, together with reminders to some of these concerned of their duties, and he was instructed of plans for a centralised hub for susceptible missing particular person instances, as a consequence of be lively 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.
