Two teenagers were found dead at a nature reserve in a suspected suicide pact, an inquest has heard
Two teenagers were found dead at a nature reserve after being arrested on suspicion of possessing an indecent image, an inquest heard.
The bodies of Jack Williams, 18, and Katherine Powell, 17, were found at Bothenhampton reservoir, near Bridport, on the morning of January 25, 2022. The teenagers, who had a child together, tragically died in a suspected “suicide pact”, a four-week inquest at Bournemouth Town Hall heard.
At the start of the inquest, coroner Brendan Allen told the jury that Mr Williams was first arrested on November 22, 2021, on suspicion of possessing an indecent image. He was then re-arrested, with Ms Powell, on January 19, 2022, on suspicion of the same offence. Mr Allen said that neither Ms Powell nor the couple’s child were the subject of the alleged image.
The inquest heard that Katherine was reported missing by her family on January 22 and that Mr Williams was reported missing on January 24. Their bodies were found suspended from a tree at the nature reserve by a member of the public and they were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Their bodies were found suspended from a tree at the nature reserve by a member of the public and they were declared dead at the scene by paramedics.
Mr Allen told the jury that they had met at Kenilworth School in 2018 while Katherine was living between the homes of her separated parents, and Mr Williams was initially living with his mother before being moved into “supported accommodation”.
He said that in May 2020, during the first Covid lockdown, Mr Williams moved into privately-rented accommodation, and Katherine moved in with him three nights a week before they moved to West Bay, Dorset, in January 2021. Mr Allen said that Katherine was pregnant at the time, leading to a referral to children’s services.
The coroner said that after Mr Williams’ first arrest, he was released on bail with conditions that he could not be in contact with his child, which led to Katherine returning to her mother’s home in Warwickshire.
Mr Allen said: “Before leaving Dorset, she spoke to a social worker and described details of her relationship with Jack which were consistent with her being a victim of controlling and coercive behaviour. Examples being that Jack put her down and her abilities, he had isolated her from family and friends and primed her on how to behave and what to say in front of professionals.”
Mr Allen said that police planned to arrest them on January 19 but Katherine was reported missing from home and was later found at Mr Williams’ address in West Bay.
He said after they were then both arrested and released on bail, Katherine, who was taken back to her father’s home in Warwickshire, was told she could not have unsupervised contact with the child.
Mr Allen said that before being released from police custody, Mr Williams, who had a history of suicidal thoughts, and Katherine, denied that they had thoughts of self-harm or suicide.
The coroner said that Katherine then disappeared on January 22, when she took a taxi in the early hours from Kenilworth back to West Bay.
He said that while reporting her disappearance to police, when asked if Katherine was a suicide risk, he replied: “To be honest, if I was in her position, it couldn’t not be in my head, she’s been through an awful lot.”
Mr Allen said that when Katherine’s mother previously reported her missing on January 19 she had told police “she may do something daft like a suicide pact”.
A similar warning was also made to police by a social worker on January 24, who had urged police, who initially graded her risk level as medium, to raise the level to “very high risk”, and the level was subsequently raised to the highest level which was “high risk”.
Mr Allen said that the risk assessments carried out by Dorset Police and Warwickshire Police, as well as the social services departments of Dorset and Warwickshire councils, and Dorset Healthcare, would form part of the evidence during the inquest.
Katherine’s parents, Adam and Jane Powell, and Mr Williams’ mother, Debbie, are attending the inquest, which is expected to last up to four weeks, via videolink. The hearing continues.
