TWO INQUESTS OPENED INTO DEATHS OF MEN AGED 21 AND 30

An inquest has been opened into the death of Rhys Eurydd Williams, 30, from Swansea, who was found hanging in his flat on October 11, 2022. His father Keith Williams discovered him during his lunchbreak after being unable to reach him by telephone the previous evening. Williams had a history of mental health problems including paranoia and psychosis, and had attempted to take his own life on two previous occasions—once by attempted hanging in January 2022 and once by overdose in July 2022. At the inquest held at Swansea Guildhall on Monday, August 3, his family told the court that they felt let down by mental health teams and that failures in the mental health system played a part in his death.

Williams had been receiving care from mental health services since 2014, including periods in assisted living accommodation and at Fendrod Ward in Cefn Coed Hospital in Swansea, managed by Swansea Bay University Health Board. His father reported that Williams appeared "dishevelled" and "off" when they last met on October 8, 2022, three days before his death. Williams was described by his father as an "extremely loving and caring young man" who maintained a close relationship with his family.

In a separate matter, an inquest has also been opened into the death of Bradley Passey, 21, from Halesowen, who died by drowning in Rotterdam on June 4, 2026. Passey had been attending TwitchCon, an annual gathering for the video livestreaming platform Twitch, in the Netherlands. Area Coroner Joanne Lees told Black Country Coroner's Court that a post-mortem examination established drowning as the provisional medical cause of death. The coroner stated she was unable to set a date for the full inquest pending liaison between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Dutch authorities to determine the full circumstances of his death.