A man who was found dead 32 years ago shortly after absconding from a North Wales psychiatric unit died by misadventure, an inquest concluded.
The body of 30-year-old Anthony Whittle, from Burnley, was discovered on November 25, 1994, near the village of Llandygai.
A second inquest into his death took place at the Dafydd Orwig Chamber in Caernarfon after the High Court upheld his brother Christopher’s application for the initial 1995 inquest to be quashed.
On Wednesday (October 7), the second day of the inquest, an 11-person jury recorded a narrative conclusion, which found that Anthony died “by misadventure”.
The inquest heard that as a teenager, Anthony tried to take his life, was sectioned, and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
He moved to North Wales in the autumn of 1994, having started a forestry degree at the University of Wales in Bangor but by November, was often phoning home and tearful.
Anthony did not meet his father and brother at Chester railway station as agreed on November 24, so they drove to Bangor to find him, and were later told he had been transferred to the Hergest unit at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor.
But after being left alone, he exited the unit via a window of an interview room, and was found dead by a member of the public the following morning.
Christopher Whittle told the inquest on Tuesday that his brother’s death was “shocking and horrific,” and rendered him “traumatised beyond any form of recognition”.
On November 24, Christopher said, he found evidence of cannabis in his brother’s “very untidy” Bangor flat, as well as a note which read: “The devil is coming to kill me, but God will protect me.”
Police located Anthony in Prestatyn during the afternoon of November 24, believing him to be having a “psychotic episode” after hearing him discussing “walking on water” and “sailing to Galilee”.
Christopher and his father were instructed to collect Anthony from Rhyl police station, but by the time they arrived there, they were told he had been transferred to the Hergest unit for assessment.
Once there, they were told by a trainee psychiatrist, Dr Thomas McMonagle, that Anthony was “seriously unwell” and could not be taken home.
But after hearing a “bang,” they were told that Anthony had escaped from the unit via a window.
The following morning, Christopher said, “police informed us he’d taken his own life”.
Anthony boarded a train in Bangor on November 24, but got off it at Prestatyn railway station, rather than Chester, due to his distress.
PC Dewi Parry found Anthony in Prestatyn on November 24 after receiving reports of a male causing a disturbance.
He detained Anthony and took him to Rhyl police station after hearing him “shouting at the top of his voice” and finding him in an “agitated state of mind”.
When Anthony was found on the morning of November 25, he was lying flat on his back, on a concrete track underneath a bridge on the A55, wearing no shoes, and an additional sock on one of his feet.
A post-mortem examination concluded he had suffered injuries consistent with a fall from height, including rib fractures, ruptured lungs, and a large amount of bleeding into his chest cavity.
Dr McMonagle, who had about three months’ experience as a trainee psychiatrist when Anthony Whittle died, accepted on Tuesday he “didn’t appreciate the extent of the risk” Anthony posed to his own life at the time.
In its narrative conclusion, the jury found that Anthony was experiencing an “acute mental health episode” on November 24, and made his way along undergrowth by the A55 after absconding.
Though the precise route he took was unknown, the jury concluded, he was found dead the following the morning with injuries “consistent with a fall from height”.
The jurors deliberated for nearly five hours before delivering its verdict.
Kate Robertson, senior coroner for North West Wales, told Christopher following the verdict: “Your determination, grit and dignity shown throughout has been impeccable.
“I am sure if Anthony was able to hear or see what you have done for him, he would be incredibly proud. I’m sure your parents would be, as well.
“My most sincere condolences to you.”
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