Autistic student found dead in college toilets after meeting over posts about crush

Autistic student found dead in college toilets after meeting over posts about crush Sam Coutts, 18, was found dead at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington after a meeting with the vice principal about Reddit posts he had made about his support worker The mother of an autistic student who took his own life in his sixth form college toilets told a coroner the organisation "failed completely". Sam Coutts, 18, was found dead at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington in January three hours after he was last seen. The discovery was made after Sam, who was high functioning, had a meeting with the vice principal about social media posts he made about having a crush on his support worker. Sam's mum, Kirsten Coutts, told an inquest held in Crook, County Durham, today that her son would have felt ashamed after the meeting. However, he was allowed to leave on his own, with CCTV showing him going straight to the toilets afterwards. His body was found there three hours later by the college principal. In a statement summarised by the coroner, Ms Coutts said: "The college did not care appropriately and acceptably for my son. They failed completely in their duty of care." The teenager had previously been the subject of bullying at secondary school and was trying hard to hide his autism. This was because he didn't want to be treated differently, the inquest heard. He was studying A-levels in psychology, applied science and biology – which he hoped to read at St John York University. His mother said in a pen portrait how change made him anxious and how he would go straight to bed after coming home from college if he was stressed. His college was aware that he had autism and he was assigned a support worker. The mother explained how she was contacted by her son's college after the support worker apparently found Reddit posts Sam had made talking about having a crush on her. Ms Coutts was sceptical about how the woman had come to find the posts as the account Sam had used did not bear his name. The posts also discussed taking oxytocin at college in an attempt to alleviate his autistic traits. A meeting was called by the college on January 13, with Sam then told he was going to have a different support worker. The previous day, Ms Coutts, who is a nurse, spoke to the safeguarding lead and said she urged staff to treat her son gently. Prior to the meeting, Sam told his mother he felt embarrassed and ashamed, she said. He asked her if the Reddit posts made him seem "creepy and weird" and she reassured him that they did not, saying they had been respectful. After meeting Sam, the college vice principal Theresa Amarawansa rang Ms Coutts to say that the teenager was "positive and fine". Ms Coutts said in her statement: "I said I find that hard to believe and the call ended." Ms Coutts then received a call from the college saying Sam was missing from his psychology lesson but she couldn't take it as she was on shift at a hospital. When she called back, she was told staff were dealing with an emergency but that it didn't involve her son. After she left work that lunchtime, Ms Coutts said she saw police and paramedics activity at the college but reminded herself that she had been told on the phone that it did not involve her son. Police were to then arrive at her home to say that Sam had died, the inquest was told. Ms Coutts said her "vulnerable" autistic son would have felt that "a rug had been pulled" when he was told about the change in support worker. She also stated how he was not found for three hours after the meeting, despite him being marked as absent from his lessons. The inquest also heard how Sam had intervened when a family member had a mental health crisis three months before and he managed to save their life by talking to them. His mother also described him as loving, gentle, quiet, engaging, adventurous and erudite, with a wicked sense of humour. The inquest, which is expected to last three days, continues. For mental health support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, email them at [email protected] or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.