Coroner demands boy, 15, tell truth over 'suicide pact' after his 14-year-old friend jumped to his death in front of train

A coroner today demanded a 15-year-old boy tell the truth over a suspected 'suicide pact' which he had discussed with his friend before the 14-year-old jumped to his death in front of a train. 

The teenage witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was giving evidence at the inquest into the death of Sam Connor, who was killed instantly when a train ran over his neck at Chertsey railway station in Surrey.

Blond-haired Sam had asked a classmate if a train would go fast enough to kill him just hours before he leapt off a station platform, after receiving a 'negative' school report. He had even texted a girl who he had a romantic crush on, saying: 'I'm going for a while, don't forget me.' 

The inquest in Woking, Surrey heard that while Sam was standing so close to the edge of the platform, another pupil called out 'don't do it!' as a common joke which the pupils shared when someone was standing over the yellow line.

A camera which captured the train driver's point of view showed Sam step out into midair and fall onto the track furthest from him at 4pm, where he died of a laceration to the neck, a pathologist said.

Surrey coroner Richard Travers heard from Sam's family in a statement which described the boy as a typical teenager who liked video games and Star Wars. The statement was read out while Sam's father James and mother Christine sat in the hearing. 

CCTV footage taken from a camera in the train's driver's cab was played at the inquest and showed Sam step off the platform into mid-air and land on the rail furthest away as the train bore down on him.

The coroner heard how after Sam finished his lessons at the Salesian School in Chertsey, he went to the local train station with other boys and could be seen walking along the platform while over the yellow line, directly next to the edge.

Sam Connor, 14 (pictured left with his mother Christine and his brother James) died when he jumped in front on a train at Chertsey railway station in front of classmates

The teenage witness was appearing to give evidence at the inquest into the death of Sam Connor, who was killed when a train ran over his neck at Chertsey railway station in Surrey

CCTV footage captured the schoolboy walking and chatting with a friend towards the end of the a platform, where about 200 students had gathered to go home, the coroner was told.

Wearing what appeared to be a school uniform, the boy witness told Woking Coroners' Court that he could not remember what he and Sam had discussed in the moments before the schoolboy walked out in front of an oncoming train.

Year 7 pupils who had been on the station platform gave evidence at the inquest that they had seen the two boys talking and whispering while looking down at the tracks, 'as though something was about to happen' on July 15 last year.

Responding to the friend's apparent inability to remember what he had been doing, the senior coroner for Surrey, Richard Travers, told the boy: 'I am not sure you are painting the full picture for me.

'Let me be frank with you, you are seen to walk up that platform quite deliberately. Sam then follows you and there is plainly conversation going on between the two of you.

'As Sam walks towards the platform edge, you walk back from Sam and walk back in the opposite direction. I want to know what conversation you had and what was being said between you and Sam at that time please.'

The boy replied: 'I cannot really remember anything other than the music, I only really remember seeing him jump.

'I remember listening to music before it happened but obviously that is not what happened, so I guess I do not really remember it.'

The coroner responded: 'Let me ask you again, you were interviewed shortly after this event and your immediate response was that you and Sam had gone up to the end of the platform in order to listen to music, that was not so, was it?

'You have taken the oath today, you are giving evidence in court, could I just ask you once again, are you doing your best to remember the events of that afternoon?'

The boy said he was and the coroner allowed him to leave the inquest hearing at Woking Coroner's Court in Surrey. 

Police at the scene of the incident. Sam Connor was pronounced dead at the scene

Salesian School cancelled its sports day and brought in counsellors for pupils after the death

Earlier the inquest had heard how young Sam had sung along to a song by the British rock band Queen as he walked out onto the train tracks, after he had written down a list of people who he blamed for his suicide.

Detectives from British Transport Police had interviewed Sam's friend on May 19 last year, who told about the names on the list, which included Sam's maths and English teachers and three other boys from the school.

Despite the names appearing on his list, the inquest was told Sam did not have any genuine issues with any of them. His maths teacher used to give Sam detentions because he would not do his homework, but was described as 'nice.' He let the teenager do his detentions on days of his choosing and bought him cookies, such that Sam sometimes got detentions on purpose.

His English teacher also used to give Sam detention over incomplete homework, the coroner was told. 

The three boys on the list were mostly down as a 'joke', the inquest heard, as one of them was a close friend who had been theatrically added on for stepping on the heels of Sam's shoes as they walked to the station together that afternoon.

Sam's friend told the police: 'He was saying, 'when I kill myself I am going to write down a bunch of people to make their lives miserable, I'll put the blame on them'. We thought he was joking, we did not think he would actually do it.'

When the boys got to Chertsey railway station, they were playing Brighton Rock by Queen out loud and Sam was 'singing along to the music' at the time he walked out in front of the train, his friend said, adding that the teenager did not say anything before he did so.

His friend had run away down the platform because he felt sick after witnessing Sam hit the tracks, as teachers arrived at the railway station and told all the children to return to school. 

Police at Chertsey station after the 14-year-old boy jumped in front of a train last year

Detective Constable Mike Baker and Detective Constable Nicola Wood, from British Transport Police, said they had heard about a suicide pact which Sam was said to have been involved in, which they asked his friend about.

The friend said the pact was between him, Sam and another boy, but he had thought it was a joke, saying: 'He had been talking about that and had taken it as a joke so to be in on the joke we agreed to it. I am pretty sure he had joked about pacts like that before.'

Police also discovered that during a class earlier on the day of his death, Sam had told a classmate that he was considering suicide.

The boy in that class said: 'During the lesson, Sam was slouching as he usually did. He told me that he wanted to commit suicide. I cannot remember his exact words but he either said 'I want to' or 'I am going to'.

'He was going in to far more detail than usual, talking about the station and jumping in front of a train, he asked me if I thought the train would be going fast enough to kill him. Sam has said similar things in the past, but I always though that they were throwaway comments.

'He tried to give me his phone, iPod and keys but I did not take them.'

The inquest heard how Sam had tried to give his belongings to several other students throughout the day, but his peers had believed he was playing a practical joke.

'I tried to persuade him not to do it, I told him that he had a long life to live', the classmate added, 'There was a sad vibe around him'.

Sam had been referred to mental health workers in Surrey in July 2013 due to issues around food intake, which were believed to be psychological.

A report from Sam's GP had said: 'It was felt that Sam had benefitted from being part of a boisterous class and this had toughened him up a bit.'

The referral was closed by October 2013 after Sam was said to be trying new foods and appeared more positive.

One of his friends told how Sam did not like being at home because he was shouted at and his video game console had been taken away due to attitude problems.

Martin Horton, the train driver with South Western Railway, who had been driving from Waterloo to Weybridge, described how he had sounded his horn as he approached platform one at Chertsey railway station. 

Mr Horton said: 'I was aware of a boy on the platform and one of his legs was out beyond the edge of the platform. He just stepped down in front of me. If he carried on walking I might have missed him but he did not do that.'

The train driver described Sam's actions as 'cool, calm and deliberate', the inquest heard.

CCTV footage captured the blonde-haired schoolboy walking and chatting with a friend towards the end of the a platform on Chertsey railway station, where about 200 students had gathered to go home, the coroner was told.

One child witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: 'Sam gave his bags to another boy and asked them to look after them for a minute.' 

The crossing at Chertsey station was taped off as police investigated the incident

A camera which captured the train driver's point of view showed Sam step out into midair and fall on to the track furthest from him at 4pm, where he died of a laceration to the neck, a pathologist said.

The Surrey coroner heard from Sam's family in a statement, describing the boy as a typical teenager who liked video games and Star Wars, which was read out while father James and mother Christine sat in the hearing.

On the afternoon of July 19, Sam's parents and his brother had attended the mortuary at St Peter's hospital where Mr Connor identified his son's body.

Sam's family's statement said: 'He was a kind, caring, gentle-natured boy from birth. He never had a bad word to say about anyone, he was polite and well-mannered at all times. Sam came from a loving, supporting home.

'Sam was a sensitive soul and often through of others, especially in his family and friends. He would always ask how was your day.'

The family said Sam's 'relaxed, natural approach to learning' had not been well received by teachers when he went to secondary school, causing the teenager, who had been diagnosed with anxiety, concern.

'Sam had received his school report on the day of the incident', the family statement said, 'Looking at this report, it was very negative, which I fell would have upset him.'

On the night before his death, Sam had gone on a family trip to visit his sister in Alton, Hampshire, where they all had an enjoyable dinner, the inquest heard.

The following morning was described as a normal school day where Sam, an aspiring breakdancer, got ready to go to Ashford station with his mother.

'On the way to the station, Sam was moody, which his mum commented on and asked him to drop the attitude, as it was not very nice, but there was no confrontation. Once at the station his mum said have a nice day and Sam went on his way.'

Children who gave evidence to the inquest told how Sam had been heard talking about suicide in the lead up to his death, but said they did not think anything was unusual because he often discussed killing himself.

One boy said: 'On Monday school reports were given out at 9am in the morning.

'I am aware that Sam had said that he would kill himself if he got a bad report.'

The boy said he later saw Sam sitting alone on benches in the school, looking 'really sad' and saw him again at Chertsey railway station at home time.

'Sam dropped his stuff on the floor and put a book on the floor and then stood on it. The book was closed, I did not see how Sam did this', the boy witness added.

'I remember seeing a note, a folded up A4 paper. On the note was written, 'give this to the authorities' and also a list of names. Other than the names was a written paragraph.'

The other schoolboy who Sam had asked to look after his belongings on the platform said that the book was An Inspector Calls, which they had just finished reading in English for GCSE and the plot of which centred around a character's suicide.

Boys who had been walking with Sam said he had been writing a list which had the names of two teachers on it.

Though the boys did not know the purpose of the list, they believed it was a bit of fun because he was laughing and jokingly threatened one of his friends who he was messing about with, saying, 'right, I am going to put your name on the list'.

Witnesses said Sam, who did not eat much but sustained himself on a lot of energy drinks and cookies, which left him looking thin and pale, complained of insomnia.

One girl witness said: 'On May 17 2019, Sam had sent me a message saying 'do you think a three-storey high building will kill someone if they jump?' I moved the conversation on because Same said things like that a lot.

'We would usually think, 'oh, that's just Sam'. I never thought it was my place to tell anyone that Sam was upset because it was so obvious. Also, I did not want to lose Sam as a friend.

'There was no way anyone would have goaded Sam into anything like this, because he was a bit sensitive.'

All the pupils said they did not think Sam was being bullied, stating he was popular within his own friendship group, which was described as 'the nerdy group'.

In the summer holidays, Sam had been planning to meet up with a girl he had been close with, who had left the Salesian school.

That girl told the inquest: 'We did stop texting each other in October 2018 as I found Sam had a crush on me and I did not want to hurt his feelings.'

She said the two had started speaking again and he had received the cryptic message from him saying 'I'm going' on the afternoon of his death.

The girl replied: 'Where? I won't forget you.' 

The hearing continues.