Teenager found dead at Harrogate homeless hostel for adults after taking drugs

Benjamin Nelson-Roux was found by his mother Kate Roux, at Cavendish House hostel in Harrogate, shortly after 4pm on April 8 in 2020.

She said the schoolboy had been struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, severe mental health issues and drug abuse for several years and been groomed by a drugs gang.

An inquest examining his death was told he was last seen on CCTV at the council-run hostel at 1am, on the morning of his death, and he appeared to be intoxicated as he was swaying.

During the post mortem, several drugs, including cocaine, ecstasy, diazepam and buprenorphine were found in his system, but no alcohol was detected.

Toxicologist Dr Stephen Morley said analysis shows “relatively low” levels of each drug were present so it would be “unusual” for them to cause death, even if they were mixed, but “not impossible”.

Forensic Pathologist Dr Carl Grey, who conducted the autopsy, said drug abuse is believed to have caused the teenager’s death.

But he was unable to provide “a certain answer” because Covid-19 restrictions prevented him from conducting a full post mortem.

“There's no possibility of a definitive finding because we were not able to do internal dissection. It could be that there was an internal condition, he might have had a fit, he might have had a heart defect, but we simply cannot know that,” he said.

“In my opinion, on the balance of probabilities and in the absence of evidence of any other cause, the most likely cause of death is drug abuse, in particular cocaine.”

Dr Grey said long-term use of cocaine can damage a person's heart, but he was unable to conduct a thorough examination of Mr Nelson-Roux’s.

The inquest heard North Yorkshire Police had been called to deal with dozens of incidents involving him since 2016, when he was 12 years old.

He was arrested on suspicion of several offences, including theft and criminal damage, over the following years and in September 2019 a review involving several safeguarding agencies found he was at “medium risk” of criminal exploitation.

It came after the teenager told his social worker he had been coerced into selling drugs, in order to pay off a drug debt.

After several more arrests, a second multi-agency meeting, in December, found that he was at high risk of exploitation and struggling with severe mental health issues and suicidal thoughts.

Mr Nelson-Roux was asked to leave home in January, after he became increasingly violent and abusive, and he continued to commit offences, while under the influence of drink and drugs.

He went to A&E in Harrogate on April 6 – two days before his death – after taking a diazepam and crack cocaine, and expressing suicidal thoughts.

His social worker decided that his case should be discussed at an urgent strategy meeting with other healthcare professionals on April 8, so they could decide what action needed to be taken, but he was found dead before it went ahead.

Detective sergeant Dominic Holroyd told the inquest that Mr Nelson-Roux’s death was not treated as suspicious and there was no evidence to suggest that anyone else was involved.

The inquest, which is expected to last 12 days, continues.