‘Tell mum I love her’: Last words of hanged head boy
A fOrMEr head boy of a public school asked friends to ‘tell my mother I love her’ before he hanged himself.
Harry Corbett, 19, took his own life on a cruise ship while in Vietnam on a gap year. He had argued with his companions and, following a full-blown fight, stormed out.
Ten minutes later he was found dead on the top deck of the boat.
An inquest heard yesterday that Mr Corbett, who had attended £31,605-a-year King’s School in Bruton, Somerset, had told friends that being bisexual had made him depressed and bi-polar.
But the coroner said there was no medical evidence for this and he could not be certain the school rugby team captain had intended to kill himself.
Mark Catley-Day, who had travelled with Mr Corbett to New Zealand and Australia before Vietnam, said his friend was in a bad mood before his death and was prone to flying into a rage. There was also tension between them over a Norwegian girl they had met on the boat, which was anchored in Ong Cam Bay on May 21.
rufus Wright, who was travelling with the pair and found Mr Corbett’s body, said there was a ‘serious’ fight as arguments from the Australia leg of the trip resurfaced, with Mr Corbett punching Mr Catley-Day.
He added: ‘Harry was pretty aggressive toward Mark. Harry gave me his wallet and started chucking his money and his card at me. He said “Tell my mum I love her” and then walked out the door.
‘After about ten minutes I thought it would be a good idea to check on him. I just saw a figure. It was very dark. It was at a very awkward angle.’
Vietnamese police investigated the death and Mr Corbett’s body was later returned to the UK at the request of his parents, David and Barbara from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. His father said: ‘Harry was our youngest son and loved by all who knew him and we are devastated at his loss.
‘We are extremely proud of everything he achieved in his short life.
‘We will never know what the future held for Harry. He had secured a place at Swansea University to read history.’
Mid-Hampshire coroner Grahame Short recorded a narrative verdict and told the hearing in Winchester Mr Corbett died as a result of hanging.
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