Butcher, 21, hooked on heroin at birth due killed himself over
Butcher, 21, hooked on heroin at birth due to his mother’s addiction killed himself after being unable to deal with his early childhood, inquest hears
- Luke Morris, 21, from South Normanton, Derbyshire, took his own life last year
- The butcher ‘heard degrading voices’ in his head and struggled with his past
- He was described as ‘pleasant’ and ‘articulate’ despite his internal battle
A troubled young man hooked on heroin at birth because of his mother’s addiction killed himself after years of struggling with the scars of his early childhood, an inquest heard.
Doctors weaned Luke Morris, 21, off the deadly drug from the day he was born but despite living through it, he was hit with further trauma two years later when his mother died from an overdose.
Despite being raised by a loving foster family, Marie and Paul Morris, in South Normanton, Derbyshire, Luke later battled demons over his early life.
He became increasingly plagued by dark thoughts about his past and feelings that he was worthless.
Chesterfield Coroners Court heard Luke was found dead in the woodland on January 30 last year after he walked out of home two days earlier saying he was ‘just nipping out’.
The 21 year-old battled depression, anxiety and problems with alcohol and drugs for several years.
After seeking help he received counselling and was prescribed anti-depressants, but it wasn’t until later he admitted he heard voices telling him he was ‘a waste of space’.
After hearing about the tragedy a coroner told Luke’s foster parents there was a real possibility his problems ‘were related to thoughts about his past’.
Luke Morris, 21, took his own life after struggling to deal with the scars of his past and hearing voices which put him down, in his head
Mr Morris was described as a ‘pleasant’ young man who was fostered by a loving family
Heartbroken Mrs Morris told the court: ‘He came to us when he was only three, we were given parental rights through the courts.
‘He always called us mum and dad and he took our name, we always intended to adopt him, but we never got that far.’
When he was 12 Marie gave birth to the couple’s daughter Lilly.
But by the end of his school years, he had started using cannabis and later he experimented with cocaine, MCAT and would regularly indulge in bouts of binge drinking, sometimes drinking a bottle of whisky a day.
In March 2013 he went to see his GP because he was depressed. On several occasions, he described thoughts of self-harm, but said he had no intention to act on it.
Dr Kathryn Hey described Luke as a ‘lovely chap’ and said it was ‘difficult to unpick the source of his problems’.
But she told the court: ‘I always got the feeling that he wanted to get better.’
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He was prescribed anti-depressants and referred for counselling with the community health team which initially produced some improvements.
But over time his mental health deteriorated again. On one occasion he cut himself and took an overdose after a heavy drinking session which put him in hospital in June 2016.
Counsellors tried to find out what was the ‘trigger’ to these bouts of depression and self-harming. He told one: ‘Sometimes I want to get the dog lead and dangle!’
Mr Morris was born addicted to drugs. He later suffered with substance abuse
After another episode following his arrest for being drunk and disorderly, he said: ‘I feel like I’m a waste of space’. He added: ‘I’m no good to anyone’.
In November 2016 the local mental health services diagnosed Luke as having mixed anxiety and depression and unstable personality traits.
But the inquest heard he kept the true extent of his problems from professionals trying to help him with his mental health issues and substance misuse.
During one conversation when he went to see Dr Hey in September 2017, he told her he was ‘sorry’ for his behaviour. He said: ‘I don’t know why, something always goes bad.’.
Asked about the voices in Luke’s head Dr Hey said: ‘I had no clues anything like that was going on!’
‘He was telling his GP’s one story and telling the community health team another.’
In one counselling session he admitted that in the past he had thought he ‘was being filmed’.
Unemployed Luke, who had lost his job as a butcher because of his mood swings, also said he believed programmes and films on TV were ‘broadcasting his life’.
He claimed those thoughts had stopped after about two years when his foster mother convinced him ‘it was all in his head’.
In another counselling session he admitted ‘difficult thoughts’ from his past came to him. He also admitted he did think about ‘hurting’ himself.
Then in a therapy session just two weeks before his death in January 2018 he described ‘degrading’ voices in his head which were ‘aggressive’ and ‘self-critical’.
Within 48 hours the counsellor had made referral to the Derbyshire Early Intervention Centre (EIS) which is a specialist service for people who experience psychosis for the first time.
Laura Water, care co-ordinator at ESI, told the court the referral they received described Luke as ‘very agitated’.
‘It said he was turning his head and he was hearing voices that were telling him to ‘shut up’,’ she explained to the court.
The EIS tried to contact him on two different phone numbers, but they were both out of service, so they sent a letter making an appointment to see him.
The young man who battled mental health problems went missing from home
By the time two members of the team arrived at his home address 10 days later on January 29, Luke had already been reported missing.
Luke’s foster father Paul told the court: ‘It took too long to refer him. There’s just not enough answers why it took so long.’
But Derbyshire Assistant Coroner Peter Nieto He said Luke had been ‘quite selective’ with what he told different medical professions.
And he said had Luke been seen by the EIS on January 29 there would have been ‘no quick fix’.
‘The problems Luke had would have required long term treatment,’ he added. ‘Maybe these related to thoughts about his past, it’s possible this was an issue for him.’
Mr Nieto recorded a conclusion of suicide and gave the medical cause of death as ‘ligature to neck’ and ‘mental health and substance misuse problem’.
Although Luke did not leave a suicide note, the coroner said: ‘I do find it was a deliberate act with a deliberate intention.’
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Luke was raised from the age of three by Paul and Marie Morris (Mrs Morris pictured)
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