Overview

• Connor Lee Mark Slade ran out of his Neath home barefoot after an argument over a missing vodka bottle and aerosol, threatening to “jump off a bridge.”
• Family friends discovered his body in the playground of Melin Primary School in the early hours of January 29 and his stepfather performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until paramedics arrived.
• Forensic pathologist Dr John Williams concluded that ligature self-suspension was the medical cause of death, with toxicology showing non-fatal traces of alcohol and cannabis.
• Social services and family witnesses described Connor as a cheerful boy with no prior self-harm or suicidal ideation despite periods of behavioural dysregulation.
• The Swansea inquest heard testimony from police, a wellbeing worker and family members before Assistant Coroner Bennett issued a narrative verdict of an impulsive act rather than intentional self-harm.