Inquest hears Sunderland man whose body was found in woodland had taken his own life

A man whose body was found in a Wearside woodland had taken his own life, an inquest has heard.
Dean Langley.Dean Langley.
Dean Langley.

Dean Langley was sadly found by a member of the public in a wooded area off Durham Road, Houghton, early on the morning of September 25, 2019.

An inquest heard on Wednesday, February 26, that Dean had taken his own life after battling depression and had been struggling in the weeks before his death.

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The 26-year-old was reported missing on September 24 by family members but sadly officers were informed the factory worker had been found dead the following morning shortly before 7am.

Detective sergeant Sarah Douglas, who was part of the team investigating the death, said Mr Langley had sent a number of messages before 6.45pm which raised alarm and he was reported as a high-risk missing person.

Senior coroner Jeremy Chipperfield read evidence from two GPs Mr Langley had seen in the weeks before his death.

Mr Langley, who was reported missing from Bournmoor, had spoken to GPs about feeling depressed.

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A toxicology report found alcohol in Mr Langley’s system which to the normal social drinker would cause them to feel intoxicated – but the report specified that this would depend on tolerance.

There were 150mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in Mr Langley’s system - the legal drink drive limit is 80mg in 100ml of blood.

Mr Copperfield said: “Despite the fact that Dean was found in a public area there is no evidence that there was any third party involvement in the events that lead to his death.

“The text messages and photographs sent by him create a very strong impression that he intended to take his own life.

“His texts indicated depression.

“He was clearly an unhappy man on September 24.

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“It is my conclusion that Dean did take his own life and his death was a suicide.”

You don’t have to be suicidal to call Samaritans. Whatever you’re going through, call the Samaritans for free any time from any phone on 116 123 (this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill) or visit www.samaritans.org.

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