A teenager killed himself just hours after vowing to track down a gang of bullies he blamed for the suicide of a pupil at his school, an inquest heard. Elton Harland, 13, had been left devastated after discovering fellow pupil Harry Gray, 15, had hanged himself. When he heard about Harry’s death, Elton sent a message to his grandmother saying: ‘He killed himself. He took his own life and me and my friends are going to find the bullies that did it to him.’ Elton also posted a message on Twitter saying: ‘RIP Harry Nicholas Gray, fly high my brother, I’m going to find them horrible little bastards.’ But within 24 hours Elton was found hanged in his en suite bathroom at the Orchard Care home where he had been living near Preston. Last week an inquest coroner said the reason for Elton’s intentions was ‘unclear’ but the teenager was one of three boys who attended Northfield School in Billingham, Teeside who took their own lives amid allegations of bullying. Just seven months after Elton and Harry’s deaths in April 2016, Arin Lyth, 13, hanged himself in January 2017 after moving to the 1,300 pupil school. Elton, a fan of the late martial arts movie star Bruce Lee, had attended Northfield between September and November 2013 before moving to the care home for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties when he was 11. His grandmother, Sandra Ackworth, 67, from Stockton-on-Tees told the inquest: ‘Elton came to stay with me at my home for three days but asked if he could stay another night. He always didn’t want to go back and would want to stay with me. ‘He looked sad when he left but that wasn’t unusual for him. A carer from the house came to pick him up but a few hours later when he was back he was messaging me on Facebook saying he wanted to come back. He messaged me saying: “Friday to Sunday this weekend Nana?” But I told him he couldn’t as I was having a weekend to myself. ‘He replied saying: “I have nothing at my care home, the only time I enjoy myself is when I don’t have staff jumping on my back. I don’t have anytime on my own either.” ‘Elton also spoke to me about the passing of a close friend who had taken his own life. ‘He sent me a message saying: “He killed himself and me and my friends are going to find the bullies,” and I sent him a text later saying take that message off Facebook please but he never read the message. ‘He had never said anything to me about harming himself – he told me he was being accused of self harm by staff at Orchard House but he said he wasn’t and they were just scratches. He never indicated wanting to take his own life.’ Richard Baxter, team leader at Orchard House, told the hearing: ‘Elton was a nice lad but would sometimes stretch the truth to make himself sound better, he had low self esteem at times. ‘On the months leading up to his death he was no different from normal really. ‘He increased his home contact and he was more upset to get back to the home but he would always be upset when he came back to Orchard House – he was a 13-year-old boy living away from home. ‘On Wednesday the 6th of April I went to collect Elton and as he got in the car he was very subdued and quiet. An activity was planned for the evening but Elton said he didn’t want to go. One of the other boys called him a ‘granddad’ and Elton snapped. ‘At about 9.15pm he went upstairs and said goodnight and I didn’t see him again after that.’ Mark Brothel, a support worker, told the hearing: ‘I had known Elton for about a year and there were no concerns of self harm or suicide. On the 6th of April I came on shift and Elton was on the computer. ‘I asked if he wanted to come out with us that evening but he didn’t want to.’ ‘We had a chat about him going back to school after the Easter break as he had been off the past few weeks and he said he knew what he needed to do. ‘I am really shocked by what has happened. Elton would always talk to us and if I asked what was wrong he would always tell me. His behaviour was no different to normal so I had no reason to ask what was wrong.’ Deputy manager at Orchard House, Andrew Armistead told the hearing: ‘I came on the shift from 8am on the 7th of April and at 12.40pm I went into Elton’s room. ‘I knocked first and I didn’t get an answer so I opened the door and his blinds were up and his duvet was drawn back and his bathroom door was closed. ‘I shouted out to him but didn’t get a response. ‘Later on I was in the office when another member of staff came to me and told me that Elton had hanged himself.’ In her narrative conclusion coroner Rachel Gallaway said: ‘At a time between 21.14 hours on the 6th April 2016 and 14.47 hours on the 7th April 2016 Elton Harland suspended himself…in the ensuite of his bedroom at Orchard House. ‘This action resulted in his death – the question of intent remains unclear.’ Elton was said to be a dedicated martial artist, with dreams of becoming a cage fighter. In a statement, his family said: ‘If anyone had the pleasure of meeting Elton they would realize how special he was. I wish we all could have seen the man you could have become. ‘He had the whole world to live for, which makes this even harder to take.’ At Harry Gray’s inquest a coroner recorded a verdict of suicide, saying: ‘Things were weighing heavily on his mind, including physical threats made against him.’ Two people were arrested in connection with his death, but there was not enough evidence to charge them. Arin Lyth’s family claimed the teenager had been subjected to ‘prolonged bullying’ during his time at Northfield school. They claimed complaints to the school had been met with a ‘dismissive and arrogant’ response. After his death, three boys from Northfield and a girl from North Shore academy, to which he had recently moved, were arrested and interviewed by the police but no further action was taken. The school said government inspectors had twice carried out recent inspections and said they had confidence in its approach to tackling bullying.
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