Roy Curtis inquest: Nine-month delay in finding body 'an indictment'

Roy Curtis, who was otherwise known as Ayman Habayeb, was found dead in his flat in Milton Keynes on 21 August 2019

A coroner said it was an "indictment" that the body of a man who took his own life was not found for nine months.

An inquest heard Roy Curtis died on or around 18 November 2018, but was not found until August 2019 by a bailiff who went to evict him from his flat.

An urgent care assessment had been requested in September 2018, but no contact was attempted until December.

Senior coroner for Milton Keynes, Tom Osborne, said the delay was "completely unacceptable".

Mr Curtis, pictured with his mother, was described as "almost in the realm of genius" when it came to computers

Milton Keynes Coroner's Court heard Mr Curtis had been admitted to The Campbell Centre, a mental health facility in the town, after he sent a 14-page suicide letter to "online friends" on 13 September 2018.

In the letter Mr Curtis, also known as Ayman Habayeb, said he intended to take his own life on 19 September as his benefits had been stopped.

The inquest heard Mr Curtis said work made him feel "stressed and anxious" and that he "decided he would never work in his life and would rather die".

After staff helped to reinstate and backdate his benefits, Mr Curtis was discharged to the care of the home treatment team on 5 October, but an urgent adult care assessment was requested on 13 September while he was still at the facility.

A social worker was not allocated until 26 November and no contact with Mr Curtis was attempted until 3 December, Mr Osborne said.

Milton Keynes Council admitted the delay was "unacceptable" and said the referral process had since been changed.

The coroner said numerous agencies tried contacting Mr Curtis from November onwards but received no response.

"I find it remarkable that the complete lack of communication with Roy did not spark a red flag or alarm bells with any of the agencies and Roy's body was only found on 21 August," he said.

Senior coroner Tom Osborne said Mr Curtis "deserved to be remembered for more than just the way he died"

Mr Osborne said when Mr Curtis was discharged from The Campbell Centre no adequate risk assessment or support plan was put in place.

He said he would issue a Prevention of Future Deaths Report to the director of social services or chief executive of Milton Keynes Council as he believed Mr Curtis's urgent care assessment request being referred to a customer liaison officer was "an indictment in itself".

"They should be received by a senior manager and actioned straight away," he said.

Mr Curtis's body was found a month after his 28th birthday.

Mr Osborne said as a citizen of Milton Keynes, he felt terrible that Mr Curtis's body was not found for nine months.

"It is an indictment on all of us as a society in Milton Keynes that his body lay there undetected for many months," he said.

Recording a narrative verdict, he ruled Mr Curtis's death was as a result of hanging.

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