Evidence in UK soldier’s suicide ‘not sufficiently clear’

Evidence of Mansfield soldier’s suicide ‘not sufficiently clear’
Chad.com UK
June 29, 2013

The inquest into the death of Mansfield former soldier Ashley Clarkson found that evidence into his death was ‘not sufficiently clear’ that he had intended to end his own life.

Nottinghamshire deputy coroner Heidi Connor delivered a narrative verdict at the hearing on Thursday into the untimely death of the 23-year-old in March 2012.

The troubled ex-Royal Logistic Corps private, had been found hanging at his home on Clifford Street by his girlfriend Chloe.

The day-long inquest, in which numerous witnesses were called including family and military and medical spokesmen, heard that Mr Clarkson had suffered from anxiety and depression, caused by numerous factors that included the death of close family and friends, and the horrors of what he witnessed while on tour of Iraq during his time in the army.

However, the army deemed a low risk in terms of suicidal thoughts by the time he was discharged from the army in 2011.

On the day of his death, and almost a year after his discharge, Ashley had visited his mother at work on the morning, where she said he looked vacant and distant, had been up all night and smelled of alcohol.

Later that day family members became worried after text messages were not being returned by Ashley.

His girlfriend, Chloe Thompson, with whom he lived with at Clifford Street, returned to their house where she found him hanging from the top of the stairs. No letter or suicide not note had been left.

Passing the narrative verdict, Ms Connor absolved responsibility from the army by saying: “For a tragedy like this to be preventable, it has to be predictable. Ashley was not thought to be suffering from a mental illness before he was discharged.”
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