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Personal Snapshot

A 14-year-old boy was found dead only a few days after being falsely accused of stealing the ashes of a deceased infant during a break-in, a coroner's inquiry has heard.

Heartbreaking Discovery

The young boy's mother and father found his body in his bedroom at his Flintshire residence on November 19th, 2021.

Untrue Allegations Start

The inquest heard how his mother received a message on 8 November 2021 via social media, from a woman inquiring if Kai was her offspring. The message added: "Inform him thanks for burgling my apartment."

In a testimony read to the proceedings, the mother said the individual had been in the news, asserting her infant's remains had been taken in a break-in - a allegation which was untrue.

Law Enforcement Inquiry

An official inquiry from authorities later determined the alleged burglary victim had "lied to police" and "it now appears that the property was never stolen in the beginning".

Media reports about the alleged stolen remains attracted social media responses, and although Kai was not identified in the messages, his mother said individuals "understood it was him".

The "online posts were extremely upsetting", she said.

Mental Wellbeing Impact

She added that Kai had been diagnosed with mild attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and as part of that disorder, other individuals' views genuinely were important to him.

"This must have affected him severely," she commented, "especially when this was untrue".

The teenager was detained at home, but no evidence was found. He was taken to a police station and later freed under investigation.

Authorities said they would be in contact, the inquest heard, but had not reached out to the family by the moment of his death.

Withdrawal and Anxiety

His parent said her son "became isolated" after the arrest and "repeatedly inquired me whether I had received anything from the authorities", because his ADHD meant sometimes "a minute could seem like days".

When she talked to him about the supposed burglary, she said her son informed her he had gone into the residence because the resident who resided there had said he could use the toilet anytime he wanted, but refuted removing anything.

Digital Harassment

In a combined testimony between her and her husband, the mother said her son was being bullied digitally after the accusations.

The proceedings learned that one 19-year-old urged the teenager to kill himself.

She had no worries on the night before he passed away, explaining how she had listened to him "chuckling and joking".

She described him as a "compassionate, loving" boy, and said her "family is completely shattered".

He had been "obviously hiding his concerns", she stated, noting that he could not stand to have anybody "think bad of him".

School Reaction

The inquest heard from educational staff at the local High School.

On November 8th, she "overheard some students discussing that Kai had been detained and that was the initial I learned".

"He told me... he'd done nothing wrong," she continued.

After the discussion, the staff member said she called the family's family landline and provided a message saying she had spoken to Kai about the allegations.

The court heard his family said they did not receive that message.

Formal Finding

Lead coroner told the inquest he would await documents regarding what improvements had been made to dealing with individuals with ADHD, before determining whether he should make a avoidance of subsequent fatalities report.

Providing a narrative finding, he said: "Around November 8th, 2021, unsupported allegations were made against Kai Benjamin Lloyd, a young child.

"Likely falsehoods were afterwards exaggerated and amplified through the platform of social media.

"On 11 November, he was questioned by the police and after his interview he was released whilst investigations continued."

The coroner determined: "Exists no evidence that the actions or omissions of any organization caused or contributed to his passing and although it was the result of a personal action it is impossible to determine his purpose."