Teen's threat hours before fatal plunge

An inquest heard how Kieran Jones, 18, was inside his 16th floor flat at 3am following a party when he suddenly threw himself over the balcony rail without warning.

Friends who had just been out during the evening with the teenager heard the commotion as they were going to bed. They tried to give him first aid but Kieran died at the scene from multiple injuries.

The hearing was told in the run up to the tragedy in the Sydney suburb of Pyrmont, the former Millfield pupil described as ‘’beautiful boy with a beautiful personality’’ had been battling depression and had a history of self harm.

He told a friend he had been sitting on a balcony contemplating self harm and had also expressed thoughts of self harm to an ex girlfriend 24 hours before his death saying he would jump off a balcony. He had also left messages on his computer saying he planned to kill himself.

A coroner in Australia investigated last January’s tragedy but decided not to hold an inquest as he thought it “would not take the matter any further”.

At a hearing in Preston a British coroner ruled death was due to suicide.

Coroner Richard Taylor said: “He had been in Australia for three months, he had a job out there and on January 28 he was found on the ground at the apartment building. Death was confirmed at the scene.

“The family found messages on the computer and messages which intonated what he wanted to do. A pathologist concluded the cause of death was multiple injuries.

“ This matter has already been considered by a coroner in Australia and I have the coroners reasons for dispensing with an inquest.

“He found an inquest would not take the matter any further finding cause of death as 1A multiple injuries.

“Clearly the coroners system in Australia and England are different.

“I’m obliged to hold an inquest, the family have requested the inquest is dealt with without the necessity of evidence being called.

“I will make a finding which I have today beyond any reasonable doubt that Kieran Jones died from injuries sustained from a fall from an apartment on January 28 2017 having previously intonated an intent to end his life.”

Kieran’s family were not at the hearing and no statement was read from them. The youngster had been in Australia on a working tourist visa and is thought to have got himself an office job two weeks before he died.

He had just moved into an apartment with a flatmate after staying in a hostel.

At the time of Kieran’s death, his mother Tracey Jones, 50, said her son was due to come home in February.

She said: “He was on a gap year and he was due to come home.”

Kieran’s former headteacher at Millfield, Sean Bullen, described the teen as a ‘model student’