Teenager took his life after Army test failure
A SCOTS teenager who dreamed of becoming a soldier took his own life after failing a military medical assessment because he had asthma.
David Morrice, 19, who had suffered from the lung condition since he was six, failed a fitness test due to his reliance on an inhaler.
The teenager, originally from Inverness, began to withdraw from family and friends and refused offers of help.
Last April 21, he wrote a note saying ‘My life is practically over’. The following day he killed himself with his own rifle in a park near his home in Widnes, Cheshire.
He had no record of mental health issues and toxicology reports revealed nothing notable.
However, the inquest, in Warrington, was told he had been suffering from low moods after the unsuccessful medical assessment.
He had joined a gun club in Warrington and applied for a gun certificate. He was the owner of a rifle and appeared to be a responsible gun user and member of the club, the hearing was told.
After a year of training with the Army Reserve, he decided he wanted to pursue a career in the Armed Forces.
In a statement read to the hearing, his mother Susan, 53, said: ‘He enjoyed his hobby of shooting and involvement with the TA [Territorial Army]. He enjoyed the social life of it as well.
‘In December 2017, he had done a medical assessment in relation to his involvement with the Territorial Army, he was hoping he would enlist as a full-time soldier and as a full career. But he had recently had an inhaler prescribed to him for asthma. He also failed his driving test at around that time, which was another blow.’
Mrs Morrice added: ‘In early April, David was very upset about plans for a night out in Liverpool. He hoped to meet friends but he ended up there on his own.
‘Around the middle of April, he started to cut himself off. I tried to persuade David to speak to his GP about it but he was in denial that he needed any help from any outside agencies.’
Mrs Morrice said on the night before his death, she had thought he was ‘maybe turning a corner... he seemed to be more positive’.
Coroner Peter Sigee recorded a conclusion of suicide.
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