Richard Okorogheye: Circumstances of death remain unclear, coroner says

Richard Okorogheye had sickle cell disease and left home without his medication

The exact circumstances of the death a student who was found in a pond after going missing from his west London home remain unclear, the coroner has said at the conclusion of the inquest.

The body of Richard Okorogheye was found in Epping Forest, Essex, on 5 April 2021.

The 19-year-old's death was "consistent with drowning", his inquest heard.

Coroner Sean Horstead recorded an open conclusion, saying: "We will sadly never know why he was in Epping."

Mr Horstead said that there was "no evidence" that the teenager wished to take his own life.

Following Mr Okorogheye's death, the police watchdog began an investigation and said the force should apologise to his family after officers provided an "unacceptable level of service" to his mother.

Mr Okorogheye's mother, Evidence Joel, previously alleged police "did nothing" when her son's disappearance was first reported.

The coroner said he had heard from representatives of the Met Police regarding missing person investigations.

• Teen's death consistent with drowning - inquest

He said there had been "lessons to be learned" but that steps had already been taken, including reminders to some of those involved of their responsibilities, and he was told of plans for a centralised hub for vulnerable missing person cases, due to be active by the end of 2023.

Mr Okoroghyeye left the block of flats where he lived at 20:34 GMT on 22 March 2021 while his mother was on a night shift as a nurse.

He went to buy alcohol and visited a sex worker before getting a taxi to Epping Forest. The taxi driver and the sex worker gave evidence at the hearing saying he appeared to be in "good spirits."

Finalising the inquest, the coroner said: "We will sadly never know why he was in Epping and why he walked to that destination.

"We will also not know how he found himself in the water. We are in the realms of speculation. It's possible he tripped and fell."

Mr Horstead continued: "What we do know from the evidence is he wasn't a swimmer, didn't like water and encouraged his mother to facilitate him not having to do swimming lessons."It adds to the mystery of how he found himself on the edge of this small lake and found himself tragically and fatally in the waters."He said he had "no hesitation of coming to the conclusion there's no third-party involvement in this case".

CCTV images showed Mr Okorogheye on 23 March walking alone towards Epping Forest

The coroner said it appeared from the evidence that Mr Okorogheye, who was referred to at the inquest as Richard Christian at the request of family members who attended, "wasn't particularly enjoying (his university) course and wasn't particularly getting on well with it".

He said there was no evidence to suggest Mr Okorogheye had wanted to take his own life.

Recording an open conclusion, Mr Horstead said Mr Okorogheye died in the early hours of March 23 2021 when he entered Wake Valley Pond and drowned.

"The means by which the deceased came to be in the water couldn't be ascertained," he said.

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