Family of teenager found dead in hostel for homeless adults say he was ‘failed in death as he was in life’

Ben Nelson-Roux was found at Cavendish House in Harrogate, on April 8, 2020, after taking a number of drugs, including cocaine and diazepam.

An inquest examining his death heard he had been struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), severe mental health issues and drug and alcohol abuse since the age of 12.

The teenager from Knaresborough was also exploited by drug dealers, who forced him to sell Class A drugs after he fell into debt and threatened him with violence.

Ben’s family said he was “spiralling desperately out of control” in the months before his death, as he was frequently taking drugs, getting arrested, injuring himself and threatening to take his own life and hurt other people.

A range of professionals, including social workers, psychiatrists and drug treatment specialists, had concerns about Ben and they were due to hold a child protection strategy meeting on the day he died.

Recording his verdict, Senior Coroner Jon Heath said the hostel was “unsuitable for his needs” but it “cannot be concluded that his accommodation contributed to his death”.

The coroner also said Ben took multiple drugs before his death but the cause cannot be ascertained, because Covid-19 restrictions prevented the pathologist from conducting a full post-mortem examination of the body.

In a statement released after the inquest, the family said: “We have been deprived of any answers and Ben was as failed in death as he was in life.

“Not only do we not know how Ben died, the court was unable to conclude that his accommodation contributed to his death.

“This is despite the fact that everyone accepted that the accommodation was not suitable for Ben’s needs. It was an adult homeless hostel.

“The court was told that other residents could have had serious criminal convictions and were using drugs and alcohol on the premises.”

They added: “To us, Ben’s life was seen as less valuable because he used drugs.

"Because he used drugs, there was an assumption that that was the cause of his death and it stuck. There was no further investigation, which is what anyone would expect following the death of a child.

“We feel that the coroner’s conclusion did not grapple with the complexities of Ben’s case and focussed on drugs and alcohol.

“There was no mention of the impact of Ben being a confirmed victim of modern slavery; there was no mention of his unexplained injuries and the lack of escalation around that; there was no mention of Ben being assaulted at the hostel just a week before he died.

“Ben had ADHD and struggled with school, which made him an easy target for criminal exploitation. Children like Ben are still vulnerable and there is not enough support to keep them, and their families, safe.”

The family said they are still concerned there was “no suitable accommodation” for a vulnerable 16 year old and no drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities he could access.

They added: “He lived in fear, pain, and self-loathing for the last year of his life because, although we begged for help, no meaningful support or even basic safeguarding was put in place.”