A teenage boy took his own life after journaling that he was worried about how the recent lockdown may have negatively affected his exam results.
The 17-year-old Matthew Mackell, who was in his first year of sixth form at Skinners’ Kent Academy in Royal Tunbridge Wells, England, was found dead on May 7 at Dunorlan Park.
His father, Michael Bond, shared that his son achieved an A in his favorite subject, finance.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling because I’m proud and I congratulated him at his grave but I just wish he was here,” said Bond, “I don’t know about any of his other subjects yet.”
On May 7, Mackell called 999 from a park and police confirmed that the incident is not treated as suspicious.
“He was worried about his results and he was scared he was going to be in a dead-end job and he didn’t know where to go with lockdown,” Bond shared.
“He lost his job too because of the virus and it all had a knock-on effect.”
Bond strongly advised the students to “go and sit with a teacher and talk to them because they are still there to help.”
The Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC), is currently investigating how police staff handled the call made by Mackell before taking his own life.
The last time Mackell was seen was when Bond asked him if he wanted his room hoovered before he left to go for a walk at around 9pm, to which the boy replied that he would do it himself as soon as he got back.
“He left a message on his mobile phone screensaver saying: “Hi you’ve found me. Tell my family I love them and to be there for each other. I’m struggling through life,” his father shared.
His brother, Chris Mackell called him, “stupidly successful at school.”
“I was speaking to a couple of his friends and they were saying he was 100 per cent the brightest one out of the whole year.”