Lisa Edwards with her son David Edwards-Gill, who died after being struck by a train
A worried mother quizzed by police over the disappearance of her 16-year-old son found out about his tragic death over an officer’s two-way radio.
Lisa Edwards was discussing a 999 call made earlier that evening by her son David, with officers at her home in Wigan, Greater Manchester, when she overheard the message.
An alert came through that David had been hit by a train after making his way to a Halloween fancy dress party.
David, an aspiring model, had battled mental illness, suffering severe mood swings and self harm, an inquest in Bolton heard.
He went missing after being dropped off at the party by his mother and soon afterwards dialled 999 telling the operator saying: ‘I just feel s***, you know what I mean? I am going to get run over by a train’.
Mrs Edwards told the hearing: ‘I dropped him off at his friend’s house at 7.15pm and was due to pick him up at 11pm. The last thing he said to me was: ”I love you, Mum. See you later.”
‘At 8pm that evening officers attended our address and said the emergency services had received a call from David. They asked if he was OK and asked if anything had upset him that day.
‘I tried to track him with the ”Find my Friends” app on his iPhone but I was unable to do so. It was then that I overhead on the police radio that a man had been struck by a train.
‘At the time I didn’t think it was David, I said to the police that it couldn’t be him, that it must be some other poor person It was then that they confirmed his identity over the radio.
‘I believe that he did intend the consequences of his actions that evening – but he was supported by his family always and we did everything we could for him.’
David, an aspiring model, had battled mental illness, suffering severe mood swings and self harm, an inquest in Bolton heard
Earlier the inquest heard David was described as a ‘loving son and a friend to many’ who was ‘cheeky and had a mischievous sense of humour.’
He was a keen rugby league player at Wigan St Patricks and boxed at Leigh Amateur Boxing club but at school he was diagnosed with learning difficulties.
Mrs Edwards added: ‘He struggled with many things such as expressing himself and communicating effectively with others. He struggled to understand his feelings and had anger management issues.
‘He often misread situations and saw himself as the victim without any rationale. I believe he had the mental age of a child who was 12. He took events personally. The family were actively involved in his life. Family were very important to him.’
The teenager was referred to healthcare professional in 2015 after he expressed a wish to take his own life but appointments with a CAMS team which helps suicidal people proved unsuccessful and his moods worsened.
David was described as a ‘loving son and a friend to many’ who was ‘cheeky and had a mischievous sense of humour’
In May 2016 he went missing and was found wandering on the hard shoulder on the M6 motorway and during a family meal the following October he stormed out after inexplicably becoming upset with his aunt who was visiting from Rome.
In a separate incident he grabbed his mother by the throat during an argument about him eating too much yoghurt and held in police cells overnight.
He also falsely claimed on Snapchat he had sold a gun and was a member of a gang and took cannabis and cocaine. Other fantasies he had included him stabbing a girl and alleging that he was involved in various muggings. In one incident he took six paracetamol tablets and burned his face with heated headphones in his bedroom.
Mrs Edwards said psychiatrists showed ‘no urgency’ to admit her son to hospital despite her concerns that he could endanger the safety of others as well as himself.
She insisted: ‘He wasn’t a violent, drug using, gang member and I don’t want him to referred to like that. It was a fantasy and there was no evidence to prove that he ever did those things – it was all in his head.’
Tests showed David had no traces of cocaine or cannabis in his system when he died.
The hearing continues.
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.