Mystery surrounds the death of a teenager who was found hanging in his room earlier this year.
Habeeb Younas, 17, was found by his heartbroken mum Alia at home in High Wycombe on March 1.
An inquest into his death heard this week that Habeeb’s death came as a shock to his family because there were “no signs” he was struggling or unhappy.
In a statement read out to the court, Alia said Habeeb had gone for a walk with his father the day before he was found dead and seemed “very happy” after it.
The family then had dinner and, some time later, did their fifth prayer of the day. Alia said she heard her son in his room on his headset, “which meant he was playing on his PlayStation 4”.
She then woke up at around 12.30am and went to the bathroom. Alia added: “I didn’t go into his bedroom but I wish I had.”
The following morning, she called out to him for breakfast and their first prayer of the day, but he did not answer.
His parents called him again, and again there was no answer. Alia then went into his room and found him hanging.
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The court heard she called 999 and the call handler asked her to perform chest compressions after untying him. She shouted out to his father, who also gave Habeeb mouth to mouth.
In her statement, Alia said: “He was a happy enough child and the three of us were very close.
“People were very fond of him and referred to him affectionately as a ‘gentle giant’.
“He was very open and honest about how he was feeling. Everything had been normal that weekend.”
She added that Habeeb had been a “bit of a loner” and that he did not have any friends “we knew of” at Buckinghamshire College Group, where he was studying a Level 2 ICT course. Habeeb wanted to go into cyber security, his mother said.
Alia continued: “He had been affected by lockdowns. He was getting fed up by the third one.”
The inquest was told he was also becoming “increasingly frustrated” with having to do online classes.
Habeeb was “passionate” about losing weight and getting fit, the court heard. He had lost 10kg and was “very proud of himself”, Alia added.
He also did not go on walks by himself but went with his parents regularly, and was looking forward to better weather so he could also go on bike rides with his father as he had recently learnt how to ride a bike.
Alia said: “There were no signs. He was such a lovely boy. He would never do anything to hurt other people.
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“We have no idea why he would do this. He struggled to tie knots so we have no idea how he managed to do this.”
A report read out to the court from Dr Louise Dodds at Wycombe Hospital said Habeeb was admitted on March 1 in cardiac arrest.
Paramedics had continued to try to resuscitate him in the ambulance and in hospital until his heartbeat and pulse had returned and stabilised, but he “showed no signs of regaining consciousness in the hospital”.
Habeeb then underwent brain stem testing, which takes place to check whether someone is brain dead and cannot survive.
Sadly, Habeeb was declared brain dead at 12.04pm on March 3 and his life support machine was turned off on March 4.
DC Rebecca Kitts, of Thames Valley Police, was called to the scene, and said in her statement: “No-one saw this coming. That fact is heartbreaking.”
And family friend Nabil, who was present in court, said the incident was “completely out of character”.
He added: “There was no lead up to it like an unhappy scenario, it was a complete shock.”
Recording an open conclusion, senior coroner Crispin Butler said: “This seems to have come out of the blue in a tragic fashion.
“I struggled to find a particular trigger that could have led to this.
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“I can clearly see that he had a loving family. If they had any idea he was struggling, they would have helped.”
Mr Butler said he could not rule Habeeb’s death a suicide because it could not be proven on the balance of probabilities that he intended to take his life.
Mr Butler suggested perhaps it was a “cry for help”, adding: “Maybe he wanted people to realise he wasn’t the happy person everyone thought and it was a way to show them that, but it wasn’t intended to end his life.”
He continued: “There are a number of possibilities as to what could have happened. The motivation for the act is entirely lacking here.
“I mustn’t assume that he intended to take his life when he did this.”
For confidential support in the UK, call the Samaritans on 116123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit a local Samaritans branch. See samaritans.org for more details.
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