The 22 tragic young lives lost to suicide

On the surface these men look like they don't have a care in the world.

But despite their smiles, there was darkness beneath the surface.

A lot of these men in the stories below were described as happy and outgoing, but deep down they battled demons which ultimately led to them taking their own lives.

The tragic stories below represent just a few of the young lives lost to suicide in this area in the past two years.

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45. Across the UK an average of 84 men take their own lives every week. That is one every two hours.

Now, we are urging people to Speak Up for men's mental health with our new campaign.

We want to raise awareness of male mental health issues and encourage those who are suffering to speak out and seek help.

By shining a spotlight on men's mental health, future tragedies could be prevented.

Sam Conlin - 24 years old

Sam Conlin had insecurities about how he looked and left a note to his family saying he "couldn't go on" following a secret eight year-long mental health battle.

Ian Conlin, 55, says his son left a suicide note before he was last seen on the Humber Bridge in the early hours of Saturday, December 29.

Humberside Police are still treating the case as a missing person's inquiry because Sam's body has not been found.

Dad-of-two Ian said "there is no doubt" that his 24-year-old son is dead in an emotional tribute, but was still left devastated after not being able to help his son battle the demons he faced.

Read more here.

Kristian Millard - 40 years old

Kristian Millard, 40, had fought - and won - his long-standing battle with heroin and cocaine addiction, before embarking on a fine arts degree at Hull College.

But he took his own life in March 2017.

His mum Lyn Wilcock, 65, told his inquest: "I'm devastated. He was a loving son. If only he'd have held on a little while longer, everything would have been OK. He sabotaged his life.

"He had been off drugs for six years. We attended a ceremony at Renew, the drug and alcohol service. We had tears in our eyes. He was so proud that he'd beaten drugs. We all were.

"But for Kristian, gambling was even more dangerous than heroin."

Read more here.

Bari Razzaki - 32 years old

Teaching assistant Bari Razzaki was found hanged next to a railway line after struggling to cope with pupils' "challenging" behaviour, his father told an inquest into his death.

Despite excelling at school, the 32-year-old struggled "to find his place in the world" and had suffered from mental health problems for a number of years.

In December 2017, a train driver spotted Mr Razzaki in the grounds of Thwaite Hall, Cottingham, as the Bridlington to Hull Northern Rail service left the village station.

It was the same spot where Mr Razzaki had attempted to take his own life, by similar methods, earlier in the year.

Mr Razzaki had left a "deeply personal" suicide note for his parents at the family home in Cottingham, which the coroner said was evidence of a "young man in turmoil".

According to Mr Razzaki's father, he had started work as a teaching assistant but had underestimated the toll it would have on his already fragile mental state.

Read more here.

James Brack - 19 years old

James Craig Brack, 19, tragically took his own life and his parents found his body after using an iPhone app to locate him.

An inquest at Hull Coroner's Court heard Mr Brack had gone for a walk on September 25, 2017, which his family said wasn't unusual for him.

But, after failing to get in contact with his mother, father or their partners, the family became concerned and tried to find him.

Via the iPhone app, Find My Friends, they were able to track their son's location to Field Lane in Rawcliffe, where they made the tragic discovery.

James' father said the family did not know he had previously self-harmed, after an inquest into his death heard some of his friends knew of his son's feelings.

His father said: "I am disappointed in some of his friends who haven't contacted us about his feelings. None of us had any inclination.

"He was thoughtful and compassionate. He was a gentle giant who made a difference in everyone's lives.

"There were 300 people there for him at his funeral who would have helped if he had reached out. This has created a huge void in our lives."

Read more here.

Grimsby man in his 40s

On the same night Sam Conlin took his own life, a second man, in his 40s, also pulled over on the Humber Bridge and jumped into the water.

His body has still not been recovered.

Read more here.

Peter Drury - 31 years old

Peter Drury was found dead at his home after he had ended his life in Montague Street, Goole, on May 24.

The 31-year-old avid computer gamer was due to spend that morning with his son Rhys, four, as part of a routine he had established with his ex-girlfriend who had come to drop off their child at his home.

Every day, Mr Drury, who worked at the nearby Tesco, would spend time with Rhys before dropping him off at school in the early afternoon but concerns were raised when he did not answer the door.

Read the full story here.

Cory Brooks - 21 years old

A mum paid a heartfelt tribute to her clever, caring, computer-mad son who tragically died in his Kingswood home after suffocating.

Cory Brooks, 21, from Kingswood, said goodbye to his mother Sally-Anne Johnson on June 4, 2017, after leaving the family home to go and visit a friend.

However, a day later he was found dead in the bedroom of his Runnymede Avenue home which he shared with his ex-girlfriend, who he had split up with just days before.

Read the full story here.

Christopher Castledine - 18 years old

Christopher Castledine, 18, jumped from the Humber Bridge on Thursday, September 21, 2017, with his body recovered nine days later on Hessle Foreshore by coastguard volunteers.

The teenager, who lived with his family in Cherry Burton, near Beverley, had just secured a place at the University of Hull to study criminology.

Christopher, who had no diagnosed mental health conditions, sent heartbreaking text messages to his parents and his best friend before his death.

Mr Castledine said Christopher’s death had left an “enormous hole” in his family’s lives. He was distraught that their younger daughter no longer has a brother to look up to.

Read more here.

Philip Hutchinson - 37 years old

Philip Hutchinson, 37, who was “in a good place” in his life, was found by a dog walker on a former Orchard Park school site.

The devoted dad, who lived in Clanthorpe in Orchard Park, had battled drug addiction for a number of years, but had seemingly turned his life around since 2013.

The dad-of-two’s body was discovered by a man walking his dog on the old Sir Leo Schultz High School site, off Danepark Road.

Watch: How to access mental health services

An inquest in Hull heard Mr Hutchinson’s mother, Christine, did “not know the reason” her son had taken the decision to end his own life.

“He was outgoing as a child, and had lots of friends growing up,” she said.

Read more here.

Daniel Santos - 26 years old

Daniel Santos was found dead in the bathroom of his flat in Londesborough Street in November 2018. It is believed he took his own life after posting a "cry for help" on Facebook.

"The day we found out about what had happened to Danny we just couldn't breathe - it was the worst pain ever," said friend Robyn.

"He was the life and soul of the party and around the time he died we didn't realise he was having problems with his mental health at all."

Read the full story here.

Gary Wilks - 29 years old

Gary Wilks was found dead at his Willerby home in April 2018 by his ex-girlfriend after seeing a "worrying" status he posted on Facebook.

She told Hull Coroners Court she had initially fallen in love with Mr Wilks' personality when they got together in August 2017.

"He was such a genuinely nice person and we just connected, he was very thoughtful, very funny," she said. "Gary’s personality was one of the main things that I liked. Gary moved in with me. At first it was fantastic, I enjoyed his company.

But she said over time Mir Wilks, who grew up in Sproatley and went to secondary school at South Holderness, became "negative and insecure". She said: "In April I ended the relationship because I could not handle the relationship any longer. Gary had turned into a different person and was unrecognisable."

Conner Brown - 20 years old

Conner Brown was seen attempting to drown himself in the River Humber close to the Deep aquarium before not surfacing.

The 20-year-old pig farmer, who was living in Driffield, had acted strangely 24 hours prior to his death.

He was detained at Hull Royal Infirmary for his own safety under the Mental Health Act, until he regained sufficient "capacity" to be assessed by mental health clinicians.

He was let out and at 6.45pm the next day a dog walker watched on helplessly as he went into the water.

Adam Palmer - 27 years old

Adam Palmer, 27, was found dead in his home after leaving his family a heartbreaking note which told them he "did not deserve them".

Adam, who graduated from Sheffield University with a maths degree in 2011, told his family in a note he was “sorry they had to see him like this".

“I hope you can all move on and enjoy your lives,” the letter said, which was found after he took his life in July 2017.

Hull Coroner's court heard he had given no indication of what he was going to do, and had just the day before bought items from the supermarket that “only he would use".

“His behaviour was completely normal,” his father said.

“There was nothing to suggest anyone else was involved, and I believe he took his own life.

“It took the family by complete surprise and shock…there were no suspicions he would take his own life. He had no mental health issues and had never spoken about committing suicide.

“As a family, in the days before it had been uneventful. There had been no arguments or issues in the house. We cannot understand why he has done what he did.”

Read more here.

Damien Lawler - 34 years old

Another family rocked by suicide was the heartbroken relatives of Damien Lawler who took his life in July 2018.

Damien Lawler, known as 'Damo' to his family, killed himself with a suicide note in his hand after struggling to find work and having his benefits changed.

In the note, he wrote he felt like a “hindrance” and couldn't "carry on anymore" after having no success with the numerous job applications he had submitted.

He also wrote that his Employment and Support Allowance was due to be cancelled, and he was so terrified about being put on Jobseekers Allowance he was experiencing "stupid" panic attacks.

But his family say they should be made aware of any situation which involves a relative’s mental health so they can best support the person "suffering from a crisis".

Damien had not attended his registered appointments, but his family say they were not followed up.

Read more here.

Simon Cargill - 40 years old

Simon Cargill was found at his home in Park Avenue, west Hull, after shooting himself with a makeshift gun.

The 40-year-old was found by his landlord alongside items he used to make the gun, as well as a number of notes he had written.

An inquest heard how Mr Cargill, originally from Leven, had used the items to create a makeshift shotgun, before firing it at point blank range to his chest-area, which killed him.

His parents had not heard from him for four months and his death didn't come as a shock.

Watch: How the Samaritans can help

His mum said: "Someone said it was a bit like Jekyll and Hyde. He would be lovely but would try to irritate people.

"I would text him everyday but would not get a reply. On September 30, he replied and that was the last time we heard from him. In January we got a knock from the police saying he was dead. We were going to try and make amends.

"We didn't find it a shock, we knew he was doing drugs and was aware he was having problems with his head.

"We expected an overdose. I find it all strange saying he killed himself. It was nice to hear people at the funeral saying he was a happy, always smiling person. I hope that is the way people always remember him."

Read more here.

Daniel Holt - 27 years old

Daniel Holt was found by his former partner and mother of his child when she visited his home in Westfield Avenue, Goole, to check on his dogs while he was supposed to be at work.

An inquest heard the 27-year-old had been suffering from anxiety and depression for several months, but while he admitted he had suicidal thoughts he told a mental health practitioner he "would not act on them".

"He had a low mood and would get angry and stay up and play games all night and would sleep in the next day, meaning he would struggle to go to work," his dad told the hearing.

Read the full story here.

 

 

Craig Staveley - 43 years old

Craig Staveley, 43, who plunged 120ft to his death from a tower block, was described as a "funny, loving and beautiful" brother by his family.

The 43-year-old was tragically found dead outside a block of flats in Cambridge Street, west Hull, in October 2018.

His heartbroken sister Lyndsey Staveley, niece Trinity Staveley and his auntie Josie urged anyone struggling with their mental health to seek help immediately.

Miss Staveley, 39, said: "We want people to know this was nothing to do with drugs, he was struggling with his mental health.

"We want people to talk to each other if they are struggling and to be kind."

Read more here.

Lewis Morris - 24 years old

A 24-year-old man who had ambitions to join the Royal Marines was found dead in his bedroom in October 2017.

Lewis Morris, who had been making "good progress" with his second attempt to join the elite unit, was found dead by his uncle at his family's East Riding home.

Evidence read to Hull Coroner's Court revealed Mr Morris, who had been fit and healthy, with no history of mental or physical health problems, had inhaled gas and taken a lethal dose of a legal painkiller.

Mr Morris's family had been holidaying in the Lake District at the time of his death and he had sent texts to his mother, but none of the messages gave any cause for concern.

It was only when he failed to turn up to work with his grandfather, a handyman, that his body was discovered.

His grandmother had called his phone but got no response, and his uncle was sent to check on him at his home in Keyingham.

Read more here.

Martin Leonard - 48 years old - and son Macauley Leonard - 21 years old

Macauley Leonard took his own life at only 21.

His father Martin then took his life less than a month later after not being able to shake the image of his dead son - and only child - from his head.

Read more here.

Robert Smith - 27 years old

Robert Smith was another man who plunged to his death after jumping from the Humber Bridge in April 2017.

Robert Sanducan Smith, 27, was brought over to Hull from Romania as a toddler by Graham and Sue Smith.

But he battled mental illness which has been partly blamed on his difficult start to life when he was abandoned by his teenage mother.

Mr Smith, of Salthouse Lane, west Hull, was seen falling from the bridge on April 15 and his body was discovered in the River Ouse at Boothferry Bridge near Goole on May 4.

After an inquest in Hull, his mum Sue described her son as "kind and caring".

Read more here.

Maciej Wincenciak - 43 years old

A homeless man who jumped to his death from the top floor of a shopping centre sent a text message to his ex-girlfriend on the day he died saying he wanted to "go to heaven".

Onlookers at Princes Quay Shopping Centre were left horrified when Maciej Wincenciak plummeted more than 60ft to his death.

The 43-year-old, who was sleeping rough in Queens Gardens at the time, suffered massive skull fractures and would have died "instantaneously" from the impact of the fall, which happened in April 2017.

Mr Wincenciak moved to the UK from Poland in 2010. An inquest into his death this week heard he had a history of personality disorder and chronic alcohol abuse and would sometimes drink eight cans of beer and whisky a day.

Read more here.

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