Inquest into the death of young man to explore police’s involvement
Jake Christopher James Softley died at the age of 31 earlier this year and an inquest into his death will be held in Bolton Coroner’s Court.
A pre-inquest review was held on Thursday, October 30, to determine the scope of the inquest.
Area coroner Peter Sigee said that the inquest will “seek to decide whether Jake acted with the intention of ending his life” before his death on April 30.
He said he would proceed with an “article two inquest” and make a decision later on – due to the “issue of police involvement” before Jake’s death.
An article two inquest can be held if the state “fails in their duty to protect an individual’s life”.
Jake’s ex-partner, Izabella Hooper, said that he had been in contact with the police “due to allegations” made against him.
Mr Sigee said that it was not within his scope to determine “whether those allegations were well-founded or made in good faith” but “the police response may be”.
He said the inquest would also investigate what Jake’s employer knew about his mental health.
Jake’s sister, Jess Every, said that he had told her that “they weren’t very supportive” and said “he looked very down” the last time she spoke with him.
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Izabella said: “Jake was a very good employee when he started working there and was quickly made a senior support worker in six months.
“Then all of a sudden he started to slip and no one stopped to think what’s happening?
“Why did the people who saw him as a good worker think – maybe something’s not right, let’s look into it.”
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Mr Sigee asked for further evidence from GMP regarding their involvement with Jake in the period leading up to his death, including any information “into his mental state and any assessment of risk to him while their investigation was ongoing”.
He also asked for further evidence from his employer Cygnet “and what steps, if any, did they take in relation to his mental health”.
The final inquest was adjourned until mid May – with a further pre-inquest review scheduled for February.
Source – INDIA TV
