Teen made suicide video then stood in front of a train
AN autistic teenager left a five-minute video for his family explaining why he wanted to kill himself before standing in front of a train, an inquest heard.
Joel Langford, 17, achieved top marks in his GCSE exams and was described as ‘exceedingly intelligent’.
But after starting his A-levels he began worrying about his future and what he would do after leaving Great Marlow School, Buckinghamshire.
He became obsessed with personal hygiene, regularly changing his clothes and refusing to sit on the sofa in the family home or sleep in his own bed because he thought it was dirty. He was also upset after being rejected for a job at Costa Coffee.
His mother Susan said her son had been diagnosed with autism and – although he was very bright and high-functioning – his behaviour could be challenging at times. She said his condition worsened when he started sixth form and he began to realise he had ‘an uncertain future’.
He also had few friends at school and was called names, including ‘ weird, retard and loser,’ she said. Mrs Langford added: ‘He had faced a lot of rejection in his life, namely at Costa, which let him go after a trial shift for not multi-tasking, and a local explorer group where most of his social interaction came from, forcing him out for his behaviour, which I challenged.
‘He did not like change and he had some worries about what was coming after sixth form. He had become obsessed about hygiene, unable to wear certain clothes if he felt they would get dirty.
‘Ironically, on the day of his death we thought that problem was over as he wore a jumper he had refused to wear before.
‘However, we later found out that he had taken it off and left it on a nearby gate before the accident.’
The court heard that at 7.20am on the morning of his death, on March 18, Joel recorded a five-minute video on his mobile phone explaining to his family his suicidal decision. In hindsight, his mother said, he appeared ‘happy’ before leaving his home, in Marlow, for the final time. At around 8.25am Joel rang a friend, telling her he did not want to continue living and he wanted her to live a happy life.
Around half an hour later he was spotted by train driver Richard Woodley, who had been working the early morning shift on the Marlow to Bourne End line, on the tracks close to Marlow Rugby Club.
Mr Woodley said: ‘At around 9.10am we were travelling at 40mph. As the crossing came into sight I saw a male run out from the left hand side from the trees. I did not see anyone else with him. I thought he was just running across the crossing as many people do, but I put on the emergency brake which cannot be undone until the train has completely stopped.
‘The boy, who was skinny and wearing a light blue t-shirt, looked up at me and waved, indicating to me to keep coming forward.
‘I looked away as the train ran over the male. This was clearly an intentional act.’
Recording a verdict of suicide, Crispin Butler, senior coroner for Buckinghamshire, said: ‘The medical cause of death was a single trauma injury by train collision.
‘Joel has explained that it was what he wanted to do and all the evidence corroborates that.
‘ He died instantly and there was never any life-saving opportunity. There is a significant amount of evidence that confirms Joel’s intentions.’
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit Samaritans.org
‘He faced a lot of rejection’