The mum of a 22-year-old Jake Anthony O’Brien who died in HMP Forest Bank, a Category B men’s private prison, has said he was failed by all the authorities responsible for his care
The heartbroken mum of a 22-year-old man who died in prison has said she “knew he was going to die” as soon as he was transferred.
Jake Anthony O’Brien died at Salford Royal Hospital on November 12, 2024, after being found hanging in his cell at HMP Forest Bank, an inquest heard. Giving evidence at his inquest on Monday, Sarah O’Brien said her son had been failed by all the authorities responsible for his care.
Jake, from Altrincham, Greater Manchester, had been remanded to Forest Bank – a Category B men’s private prison in Pendlebury, Salford – after being charged with car-related offences. He was taken to Salford Royal Hospital on November 9 and sadly died three days later, the Manchester Evening News reports.
The inquest heard that Jake had been transferred to Forest Bank from HMP Liverpool three weeks before his death. There were no suspicious circumstances, with his injuries described as consistent with death by hanging.
Giving evidence at the inquest, Ms O’Brien described her first-born son as “extremely precious” and “very, very deeply loved”. She said she became increasingly concerned about Jake’s mental health while he was at HMP Liverpool and repeatedly contacted both prisons, mental health services, her local MP and other authorities to raise the alarm.
Jake, who was experiencing psychosis and had a history of self-harm, “acted younger than his age” and was “cognitively slower”, the inquest heard. There was also a family history of schizophrenia, and Jake had taken ketamine around the time his psychosis developed.
Ms O’Brien told the hearing that Jake had contracted encephalitis a a baby and was told by doctors that, “if he lived, he was going to be severely brain damaged”. He was also involved in a serious car accident in 2020 that may have caused brain injury, the inquest heard.
Ms O’Brien said that when she found out that Jake would be moving to Forest Bank, she knew it was “the start of the end of his life”. She said: “I can’t even tell you the feeling that I had. Nobody listened and he ended up dead.”
While in prison, Jake – who had ADHD and a “strong probability” of autism – experienced psychosis and delusions, the inquest heard. Ms O’Brien told the hearing that she would to try to reassure him over the phone through phone calls while also emailing councillors, hospitals and other professionals in an effort to secure help.
She said she had hoped he would be transferred to Edenfield Centre, a medium-secure mental health unit. The inquest also heard that Jake had been assessed by a consultant psychiatrist shortly before his transfer to Forest Bank to determine whether he should be moved to a mental health facility.
However, it was decided that it was in his best interests to monitor his behaviour and reassess him over the following weeks. At the time of his assessment, it was noted that Jake’s symptoms of psychosis appeared to be improving and that he seemed to benefit from the structured environment at HMP Liverpool.
The inquest into Jake’s death, which opened on Monday at Bolton Coroners Court, is expected to run for 14 working days. Jurors were informed that they would hear from 50 witnesses over the course of the hearing as they piece together what the coroner described as a “jigsaw puzzle” of evidence surrounding Jake’s death.
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