Mystery surrounds death of teen found by river

Mystery surrounds the death of an 18-year-old whose body was found on the banks of the River Taff.

Casey Frasier Coulton's body was found on 22 November 2022 - he was last seen by friends in Abercynon, Rhondda Cynon Taf, when he was at an 18th birthday party but he ran away from them in the early hours of 13 November.

The hearing in Pontypridd was told that a post-mortem examination was inconclusive.

The medical cause of death was recorded as submersion in a man who had taken alcohol and cocaine and assistant coroner for south Wales central, Kerrie Burge, recorded an open conclusion.

When Mr Coulton, from Aberdare, left his friends on the night of the party, he was last seen heading towards Cwmbach train station.

The inquest was also told of a previous incident of risk-taking behaviour when he jumped out of a first floor window after drinking and taking cocaine.

Ms Burge said it was probable that Mr Coulton went into the water shortly after disappearing, based on a lack of CCTV evidence and use of his mobile phone after that time.

She added: "It is more difficult for me to determine how Casey came to be in the river.

"Casey could have fallen in by accident. He appears to have been behaving oddly, running off from the car."

Rumours of "third party involvement" were addressed by Ms Burge who said she could not reach a decision based on speculation, adding that there was "insufficient evidence for me to determine on the balance of probabilities how Casey came to be in the water".

She told Mr Coulton's family and friends at the hearing: "I'm sorry that sometimes an open conclusion sometimes leaves you with questions not answers, but having explored all of the issues in evidence there is no other conclusion I can reach."

In a tribute released by his family after his death, Joanne Edwards, the mother of his girlfriend Charlie, said he was loved by all his friends.

"Casey was a kind-hearted, loving, selfless gentleman," she added.

"He was loved by his girlfriend Charlie, her brother Nick, myself and my partner Leighton."