Manchester Evening News

Tragedy of student whose mental health suffered after arrest

‘DELIGHTFUL YOUNG MAN’ TOOK HIS OWN LIFE IN PLAYGROUND

- By SOPHIE HALLE-RICHARDS sophie.halle-richards@men-news.co.uk @sophiehrME­N

A TEENAGER whose ‘mental health deteriorat­ed after he was arrested’ took his own life.

Mohammad Farkoosh’s death was initially treated as murder, an inquest heard.

Mohammad, 17, known as ‘Ash,’ was found with a makeshift ligature around his neck in a children’s play area at a park in Bolton in June.

An inquest into his death heard officers initially referred the case to Greater Manchester Police’s Major Investigat­ion Team.

Detectives were unsure whether

Ash put the ligature around his neck himself, or someone else was involved.

Concerns were also raised about the teenager’s bag being taken from the scene.

Ash’s family then informed detectives he had a history of mental-ill health, having suffered from depression.

It later emerged the missing bag was stolen by the person who discovered Ash’s body, who also called police.

Following a complex investigat­ion, detectives ruled out foul play.

Bolton coroner Rachel Syed concluded Ash took his own life, recording a finding of suicide.

Ash’s brother Chan described his sibling, who was studying sports science at Bolton College at the time of his death, as ‘well liked.’

He told the inquest Ash’s mental health began to deteriorat­e after he was arrested following an incident in 2015.

Mr Farkoosh said the criminal proceeding­s were the sole trigger for his brother’s mental health issues.

“Since that allegation, he was just never the same, and he became very distant and very isolated,” he told the court.

“He just wasn’t the same after that. I blame that incident for his mental health going the way it did.”

GMP refused to confirm why the teenager was arrested, or the result of the investigat­ion.

The court heard Ash had made a previous threat to take his own life three weeks before his death.

Coroner Rachel Syed said: “I am satisfied that Ash’s mental health had deteriorat­ed so much that he was suicidal.

“After 1am he attended a children’s park and at some point he wrapped a ligature around his neck with the intention of ending his own life. To have lost such a young individual who had his own life to look forward to under these circumstan­ces is heartbreak­ing.

“He sounds like a delightful young man,” she said.

 ??  ?? Mohammad Farkoosh
Mohammad Farkoosh

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