Teen boy died by suicide after ‘relentless’ bullying for being autistic and gay
Cameron Warwick died by suicide at the age of 16. (cameron-warwick.muchloved.com)
A 16-year-old boy who was “relentlessly” bullied for being gay and autistic died by suicide, an inquest has heard.
Cameron Warwick, who came out as gay at the age of 12, killed himself on a day that he was supposed to be at college in Hampshire, UK.
The inquest heard from his mother, Kerry Warwick, who said that after Cameron came out other pupils began bullying him and throwing things at him during lunch breaks.
“They would bully him and isolate him,” she said.
“They would throw things like food at him, trip him up in the corridor, and call him horrible names like ‘autistic f**k’.
“The bullies would prey on the fact he was gay. He was ostracised, with pupils refusing to sit with him and calling him names.
“By year 10, he had resigned himself to the bullying.”
His friend, Christopher, said in a statement read out at the inquest: “I believe Cameron was relentlessly bullied at school by other students for coming out as gay.”
Bill Ashcroft, 16, another friend of Cameron’s, said: “One boy at school told him he was ugly.
“He didn’t keep his mental health a secret, if something was wrong he would always talk to us about it.”
He was found dead on September 4, 2019. Cameron had suffered from depressive episodes previously and had a history of self harm, the inquest heard.
Cameron, from Fareham, had just missed out on the required grades to study gaming at college and instead was studying computer science.
Kerry Warwick said that Cameron had been in a low mood after missing out on the required grade 4 in maths.
“Over the rest of the school holiday his mood didn’t really improve,” she told the inquest.
“I tried to comfort him because he did get six GCSEs at grade 4 and above, but he could only see the maths grade.”
Coroner Jason Pegg recorded a verdict of suicide at Portsmouth Coroner’s Court.
He said: “Cameron had this background of autism – which resulted in bullying at times. Not only did he take his own life, he intended to do so.”
Kerry Warwick and Cameron’s father, Alan, paid tribute to their son in a statement: “Cameron was a much-loved, gentle and kind young man.
“His illnesses made it impossible for him to continue to live in a world which he did not understand, and one which made little effort to understand him.
“We miss him with all of our hearts, and would urge others to be compassionate to other people’s vulnerabilities, or to share their own and seek help to avoid other such tragedies.”
The Samaritans are the UK’s suicide reduction charity and their free helpline number is 116 123.
