Autistic student found dead after meeting over support worker crush

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 19 Oct, 18:43 · Archive

An 18-year-old autistic student was found dead in his sixth form college toilets in January, hours after a meeting about social media posts concerning his support worker.

Sam Coutts, 18, an autistic A-level student at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington, was found dead in the college toilets in January. The discovery came three hours after he had met with the vice principal to discuss social media posts he had made about his support worker.

The Daily Mail reports that Sam had been assigned support worker Lauren Crosby and had posted about her on Reddit, also sending her a Christmas Day email with a link to a Mariah Carey song. Following the January meeting, he was told his support worker would be changed. CCTV footage showed Sam went directly from the meeting to the toilets, where his body was later found by the college principal.

At an inquest in Crook, County Durham, Sam's mother Kirsten Coutts told the coroner that the college 'failed completely' in its duty of care. She said her son would have felt ashamed after the meeting. The inquest heard that Sam, described as high-functioning, had previously experienced bullying and was anxious about his autism being visible to others.

How it is being reported

• Autistic teenager took his own life in sixth form college after being removed from support worker he 'had a crush on', inquest hearsSam Coutts, 18, was found dead at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Darlington, in January, following a meeting with the vice principal about the support worker.Daily Mail · 19 Oct, 18:31
• Autistic student found dead in college toilets after meeting over posts about crushSam Coutts, 18, was found dead at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington after a meeting with the vice principal about Reddit posts he had made about his support workerThe Mirror · 19 Oct, 15:01

In this story: Sam Coutts · Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College · Darlington · Kirsten Coutts · Lauren Crosby · York St John University

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