The heartbroken mum of a teenager who drowned in a lake fears she will never know how her son died. Samson Price's body was found in Westwood Flash in Wigan on October 4, 2020.
An inquest at Bolton Coroner's Court yesterday heard the 18-year-old left home the previous afternoon after telling his parents he was going night fishing with his two cousins, Logan Liptrot and Patrick Brown. However, the trio had in fact decided to camp by the lake so they could take an "LSD-like substance" called bromoamphetamine.
After taking the drug, the inquest heard Samson had a bad reaction and started to "freak out", prompting his cousins to leave him in a tent while they sought help. When they returned, he was nowhere to be seen.
The following day, emergency services pulled Samson's body from the water nearby. Coroner Prof Dr Alan Walsh said he did not have enough evidence to establish how Samson ended up in the lake.
However, he added that he could not rule out the possibility that Samson had been pushed or thrown into the water. Speaking after the inquest, Samson's mum, Rosanna Price, said she still had questions over her son's death."
She added: "I still haven't got justice for Samson. I don't think I'm going to get it. I don't think I'll ever find out what happened.
"I have the exact same questions I had when Samson died. Nothing is going to fetch my Samson back. The world has been robbed of an amazing person."
The inquest heard Samson left his family home in Goose Green at about 3pm on October 3, 2020. Mr Brown drove Samson and Mr Liptrot to Bolton where Samson bought a drug he believed to be LSD, but was in fact a similar substance called bromoamphetamine.
They arrived at Westwood Flash at about 6.30pm and left the van with a tent but no fishing gear. The inquest heard the group then set the tent up about three feet from the edge of the water - despite both Samson and Mr Liptrot being unable to swim.
The trio took the drug about an hour later, with Samson sending a picture of himself with “tabs” on his tongue to a friend. By 10pm that evening, Samson had begun to "act in a wild manner", the court heard.
"He started acting out of character and wasn't making any sense," said Mr Brown. "He wouldn't listen to us. I couldn't tell if he was joking or serious."
The inquest heard a video filmed by Mr Brown showed Samson under the influence at about 10.50pm. In the video, Mr Liptrot could be heard to say: “Chuck him in the pond."
Mr Liptrot told the inquest the comment was made as a "joke". "We didn't know what to do," he added. "We were all tripping out and we couldn't calm him down. I heard bad trips could happen but I thought it would wear off."
Mr Liptrot and Mr Brown said they decided to get help and walked to the van. They took Samson's phone but left him alone in the tent, the court heard.
"We told him to stay put, we won't be long," explained Mr Brown. "I didn't know how bad he was because we've never taken this drug before."
"We were really scared," added Mr Liptrot. "I was on acid and did not know what was happening."
The inquest heard Mr Liptrot sent his girlfriend a message shortly before 11.30pm, which read "Samson could not be saved". She replied with a question mark but Mr Liptrot sent a picture of him in the van, rather than answering her question.
Mr Liptrot then phoned his friend, Alexander Harold, to ask for help. Mr Harold got a taxi to the van in Lockgate Place, arriving at about 12.50am.
The three men returned to the tent but found it zipped up with Samson nowhere to be seen. Mr Harold and Mr Brown began searching for Samson while Mr Liptrot went back to the van.
The inquest heard Mr Harold sent messages to one of Samson's friends on Facebook to ask if he had seen him. Two police officers approached the van shortly after 2am in response to a report of suspicious activity and found Mr Liptrot inside the vehicle.
Mr Liptrot phoned the other two, who returned to the van and told police they were camping in the area but did not mention that Samson was missing. The three men then travelled to Mr Harold's house before Mr Brown and Mr Harold headed back to Westwood Flash to search for Samson at about 4.15am. They later returned to Mr Harold's house and slept until 9am.
When asked why they failed to report Samson missing to police or his family, the men said they did not want to get in trouble. When Samson had not returned home by midday the following day, Ms Price became concerned.
She told the hearing she then received a phone call from Samson’s cousin Kane Jones at about 1.30pm to say her son was missing. "I knew," she told the inquest. "Call it mother's intuition or something else, but I knew Samson was gone."
She and her husband, Samson Price Snr, rushed to Westwood Flash to search for their son, and Mr Price Snr phoned police. Samson’s body was later found in the water by emergency services and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Forensic pathologist Dr Philip Lumb gave Samson's cause of death as "drowning". Dr Lumb told the hearing a post-mortem examination had not found any defensive injuries or anything to suggest he had been assaulted or suffered trauma.
However, he said he could not rule out a "push or grab" that may not have left a mark on Samson's body. Toxicology tests revealed Samson had taken several drugs, including cocaine, cannabis and bromoamphetamine but none had directly caused his death, the court heard.
Ms Price described Samson as someone who was "always smiling", adding that she "couldn't have asked for a better son". She said he loved rugby and had recently started a plumbing course at Wigan and Leigh College with the aim of becoming a heating engineer.
The inquest heard Samson had never learned how to swim and was "really scared of water". "He did not even like having a bath at home," said Mr Price Snr. "He would only use the shower."
Samson had sent text messages to his father and sister Atlanta shortly before 7.30pm on October 3, but that was the last they heard from him. Following Samson’s death, police arrested three people but all three were later released without charge.
Detective Inspector Matthew Hamer, of Greater Manchester Police, said an investigation had not found enough evidence to suggest any criminality. He said he believed the comment made by Mr Liptrot in the video had been an "inappropriate joke rather than a direct threat".
Recording an open conclusion, Prof Dr Alan Walsh said: "He could have been pushed into the water. He could have been thrown into the water. He could have jumped into the water. He could have fallen in the water. He could have gone into the water while suffering from an hallucination.
"I don't exclude any of these explanations, but even on the balance of probabilities, I'm not able to reach a conclusion as to which of these caused Samson's death." Prof Dr Walsh described the group's decision to use drugs so close to water as "a recipe for disaster".
Addressing Samson's family, he added: “I am very sorry for Samson’s death. Eighteen years old. Somebody who had everything to live for, somebody who in many respects was very popular, good at rugby, had many friends, enjoyed life and had a permanent smile on his face. And so it is a great tragedy that at 18 years of age, he should die in these circumstances.”
