Inquest into death of teen whose suicide sparked £120k fundraising concludes

Tuesday 08 November 2022

The inquest into the death of teenager which led to more than £120,000 being raised for mental health support for young people has concluded.

Held at Morier House this morning, the inquest heard that 14-year-old Kezia Mason had spent what appeared to be a normal weekend prior to being found dead in her bedroom by her father shortly before she was due to leave for school on a Monday morning in March.

Police Coroner's Officer Samantha Rawlinson said Kezia had attended a rehearsal for Matilda the Musical on the Sunday afternoon, after which a friend's father had dropped her back to her home in St. Helier.

In a statement, the friend's father said that Kezia had been joking with the others in the car and made them laugh. The topics of conversation had been "ordinary", he said, adding that in retrospect he could not think of "anything out-of-the-ordinary or worrying" about the discussion.

The inquest heard that while there had been some concern about Kezia suffering what was described as "teenage angst, depression and stress", there was no indication – either before her death or afterwards – that she had been contemplating suicide.

In a statement read to the inquest, Rob Mason said he had taken a meal to his daughter on the Sunday evening, as she was staying in her room to reduce the risk of catching covid from her mother Esther and brother Ben, both of whom had tested positive for the virus.

PC Rawlinson said that Mr Mason had then found Kezia at around 07:30 on Monday 7 March, when she failed to respond to his message that it would soon be time to leave for school.

Relief Coroner Cyril Whelan said he was "certain in the highest degree" that Kezia had died as result of suicide, formally recording his finding that Kezia had "taken her own life while suffering anxiety, low mood and depression".

Following Kezia's death, her brother, Ben, set up a JustGiving page with an aim of raising £1,500 for mental health charities or for a new charity to be set up in Kezia’s name.

However, the fundraiser ended up generating more than £100,000, and saw Ben honoured with the opportunity to hand Premier League winners Manchester City their trophy in May in recognition of his "extraordinary" courage.

In September, hundreds of islanders took part in a 'Run for Kezia' fundraiser, which generated more than £20,000.

Kezia's father joined the awareness-raising '3 Dads Walking' drive on Mental Health Awareness Day the following month.

He joined three other fathers who had lost their daughters on the 24-miles of the penultimate leg of their 600-mile walk between the parliaments of the four UK nations as part of a campaign to have suicide prevention embedded in the school curriculum. 

"It was a privilege to walk with these other dads, share stories with them and other families and learn from their campaign to support the same message here in Jersey," Mr Mason said at the time.