Inquest confirms suicide
A first-year student from St Anne’s who died in the Christmas vacation took his own life, an inquest has reported. Joseph Sharples, 18, from Redhill, Surrey, threw himself in front of a train at Primrose Crossing, near Biggleswade in January. He died of multiple injuries due to trauma, and an inquest, held last week, returned a verdict of suicide. Sharples’ laptop was found near to where he died.
In the middle of the screen were the words, “Tell the driver I am sorry”, which had been saved earlier that morning. Sharples, a train enthusiast, spent the day he died travelling on trains, and his parents were able to use his train tickets to trace his journey to York, Leeds, Doncaster, King’s Cross and finally Bigglesworth. At the time, British Transport Police said that they suspected that the death was a suicide.
A spokesman said, “It seems that as the train was approaching, he stepped out in front of it.” Bedford-based coroner, David Morris, said: “Due to the location where he was struck by the train and the fact that the laptop was found nearby indicates that he intended to take his own life.
?? There was no evidence of mental health problems or psychological problems earlier in his life and no suggestion was given to why he would want take his own life, and no drugs or alcohol were found in his system. David Morris found no indication that he was having great difficulty at University. “He was a bright person. Academically, he’d done very well.
?? After Sharples’ death in January, St Anne’s JCR President, Sally Lambert, told The Oxford Student: “Joe contributed a huge amount to college in the time he spent with us, and will be sorely missed by the St Anne’s student community.” The college’s Boat Club Captain Tom Fowler said: “Ever the optimist in the boat, Joe was the one who celebrated our achievements, yet always worked to improve.
A study by the University Committee of Student Health found that students at Oxford and Cambridge are more likely to commit suicide than students at any other university. The deaths of 83 students were investigated over a fourteen-year period, and 21 of these deaths were from suicide. The most common single contributing factor, cited in 33% of these cases, was keeping up with essays, coursework and reading.
In terms of major areas of difficulty, however, interpersonal problems were the most common, being identified in 83% of cases. 76% of the suicides involved males and 24% involved females. Aidan Randle-Conde, OUSU Vice-President for Welfare and Equal Opportunities, told The Oxford Student, “Suicide is the only issue where, once it comes up, it’s already too late. With any other issue, we can help people deal with it.
“Colleges need to make sure there’s always someone there for students to talk to the instant we let our guard down, we could have another tragedy on our hands.”
18th May 2006