Schoolboy, 13, took his own life after taunts from fellow pupils about his sexuality and pressure at home over chores, inquest hears
A 13-year-old boy who killed himself had been taunted about his sexuality at school and was ‘fed up’ with doing more chores at home than his siblings, an inquest heard.
Leyton Taylor was the subject of callous jibes at Wymondham High Academy in Norfolk after admitting to fellow pupils that he had a boyfriend.
But the hearing was also told he had been under pressure at home as he was asked to help more than his brothers and sisters as ‘the other kids argued back’.
The second-oldest child in the family, his responsibilities included caring for a disabled half-brother, cleaning and shopping.
On the day he killed himself, he had been slapped on the head by his stepfather, Kyle Townson, for letting his disabled half-brother hurt himself on a trampoline.
The boy has Dravet syndrome, a rare, severe and life-limiting form of epilepsy that requires round-the-clock care.
Leyton had also had his TV set confiscated for using a sibling’s bicycle to collect a ready meal for Mr Townson from a local Co-op store.
Days earlier, he had told his mother, Kerry, that he wanted to run away and live with his grandparents, although the inquest heard she didn’t take it seriously.
Leyton Taylor, 13, was the subject of callous jibes at Wymondham High Academy in Norfolk after admitting to fellow pupils that he had a boyfriend
Leyton was found unresponsive in his bedroom on the evening of April 6 last year after hanging himself. He was taken to hospital but died days later.
Recording a narrative conclusion today, coroner Yvonne Blake said, although he had taken his own life, there was ‘no evidence of his intent’.
She told Ms Taylor: ‘You did ask him to help out quite a bit and the other children did not help out and you did not feel you got much help from your partner at that time.
‘Suffice to say, anyone would be fed up – not just a 13-year-old boy or girl. He felt he was being asked to do more than anyone else, which seems like it’s probably true.’
The inquest at Norfolk Coroner’s Court heard that Leyton had moved from Dickleburgh to Wymondham with his family part-way through the school year in April 2024 because they needed a bigger home.
This meant he had to leave behind close friends and, while he initially made new friends at Wymondham High Academy, he had started walking home on his own.
Ms Taylor told a pre-inquest hearing last year: ‘None of the boys in that school accepted him. They told him they would never accept him for the way he spoke.
‘He was a sassy speaker, more feminine – not the “hard boy” type. This wasn’t going on for just a little while.’
The school said they had not been aware of problems and the teenager’s mother, Kerry, said he had not wanted her to complain as it ‘would only make it worse’
She had wanted to complain to the school but didn’t as ‘he told me it would only make it worse’, she added today.
Chris Smith, the headteacher of co-ed Wymondham High, which has around 1,600 pupils aged 11-18 and is rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, said the school hadn’t known about Leyton’s problems until after his death.
‘We weren’t aware of them at the time but we learned afterwards that there had been remarks made,’ he said.
The teenager had ‘always come across as happy and confident speaking to adults’, he added.
But the inquest was told Leyton had also been upset at the work he was required to do at home, including acting as his seven-year-old brother’s carer.
His mother, who has since split up with her partner, said: ‘Leyton watched the little ones. He’d go out to the shops.
‘[His disabled brother] has Dravit syndrome and is prone to sudden epileptic fits…
‘Kyle would not be actively involved. I would lean on Leyton more. Now I see Kyle and me were the ones that made Leyton not be a child.’
Leyton was also under pressure at home as he was asked to help more than his brothers and sisters as ‘the other kids argued back’
Mr Townson, who was not at the inquest, said in a statement Leyton had not been upset when he slapped the back of his head over the trampoline incident.
He had disciplined him over the use of the bicycle because ‘there was no lock on it’.
‘I do not feel like I treated him differently from the others. He was the only child living with us who was not biologically mine but I brought him up as mine,’ said Mr Townson, who had raised Leyton since he was aged two.
‘Both Kerry and I asked him to look after [the disabled brother] quite a lot. There would be arguments because some of the other kids would not help out as much. Kerry would ask Leyton because the other kids argue back.’
He added: ‘I also did not do enough. I should have done more…
‘I will never forgive myself for what happened. I know I could have done more to help Kerry and this would have helped Leyton.
‘I believe all these things [issues at school and wanting to live with his grandparents] have added up.’
Mr Taylor said her son had asked her about seeing a counsellor in 2024 and commented about ‘putting on a fake mask of smiling’.
An air ambulance was scrambled to the family home when Leyton was found unconscious in his room.
Paramedics managed to restart his heart and took him to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital before he was transferred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.
But he remained unconscious and the family agreed to withdraw treatment after doctors told them he was not expected to survive unaided. His organs were donated to help others.
The cause of death was given as brain stem death, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and asphyxiation by hanging.
Ms Blake added: ‘He had never run away or had a history of self-harm. He could be lippy but there did not seem to be that weekend anything out of the ordinary, apart from being told off three times in one day…
‘He’s only 13. He’s a young lad. He’s probably up and down, upset, did not much like his school, did not like where he lived, had various things confiscated off him.
‘It’s [all] probably normal things happening to a teenager but they’re not emotionally mature.
‘I am not sure he had probably intended to end his life.’
In an online tribute after Leyton’s death, his family said: ‘Leyton was a one-of-a-kind soul – funny, sarcastic, quirky and always full of life.
‘His infectious sense of humour, boundless energy and loving spirit left a lasting mark on all who knew him.
‘A free spirit with a heart full of love, he touched lives in ways words can hardly describe.
‘Leyton’s journey was one of bright smiles and deep love but also of hidden struggles – struggles we wish we could have known and helped him through.
‘His passing has opened our eyes to the importance of raising awareness for mental health and suicide prevention, especially among young people who may not have the words to ask for help.’
Pupils at Wymondham High were offered additional support after the tragedy and Mr Smith wrote to families.
