A young man who 'loved life' was found dead at a beauty spot in Stockport after sending a heartbreaking Snapchat to his girlfriend, an inquest heard.
Jake Burton, 24, was found having hanged himself by a dog walker in Reddish Vale Country Park in the early hours of the morning on July 9 last year.
An inquest at Stockport Coroner's Court heard how the night before, Jake had been at party with his on and off girlfriend, where he took cocaine and drank alcohol.
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The two of them got into an argument and went their separate ways. She temporarily blocked his number before receiving a Snapchat message from him at around 6am on July 9.
She told the inquest the message contained a picture of Jake with a rope around his neck. Despite having no history of mental health issues, he was found dead a short time later.
Mr Burton, who lived with his mother Debbie Burton, in Stockport, worked as a plumber and had met his girlfriend in the summer of 2021. The court heard he would take cocaine regularly both at weekends and sometimes in the week.
"Whenever he did it his mood was affected and he became aggressive," She told the court. "When he wasn't using cocaine he was kind and caring.
"By Autumn 2021 our relationship had changed and we would often break up before getting back together. After one argument he said he didn’t want to be here anymore.
"He said he had messed up his life and just wanted to make his mum proud. He wasn’t happy with his life and often talked about taking his life but never said how he intended to do this."
On the evening of July 8, Jake met her at her house and they began drinking together. The inquest heard they were also using gas cannisters and balloons. Later on in the night a friend invited them to party at a Rugby Club in Stockport.
She said: "He did cocaine and spent most of the night in the car park with his friends.
"Before we left we argued because he had been talking to a girl. We got a taxi and I tried to persuade him to go to his mums but he said he didn't want her to see him like that.
"We had another argument and he stormed off. I went looking for him and found him at Reddish Vale and we started arguing again. He left and I phoned him because I thought he may have gone back to the party. We exchanged some unpleasant messages and I blocked him.
"At 6am I received a Snapchat message from Jake. He had a rope around his neck. I contacted his mum and eventually we both went to Reddish Vale and discovered what had happened."
Jake's mother, Debbie Burton, told the inquest her son was a "fit" and "healthy" young man and never suffered from any mental health issues. She said she last saw Jake the night before his death when he came home to get changed before heading out to the party with his girlfriend.
"He said he had to get up for work the following day and asked me to make sure he didn’t oversleep," she said. "He put his arms around me and told me loved me.
"Jake loved playing computer games, spending time with friends and working. If a neighbour came round and needed something done he wouldn’t hesitate to help them. He was looking forward to a family holiday later in the year and loved life."
Police Coroner's Officer, David Wood, told the hearing that Jake was found by a dog walker in Reddish Vale Country Park who tried to help but described him as "unresponsive."
Mr Burton was tragically pronounced dead at the scene. No notes indicating an intention to take his own life were found, and suspicious circumstances were ruled out.
A toxicology report was written by Dr Stephanie Martin who found that Jake was above the legal drink drive limit and had a very high level of cocaine in his system that was consistent with fatalities in some cases. The cause of his death was recorded as hanging.
Area Coroner for Greater Manchester South, Chris Morris, said due to the level of Mr Burton's intoxication, he couldn't determine whether he had intended to take his own life.
"Whilst I note he has died as a result of hanging I am very conscious of the toxicology results," Mr Morris said. "He had a very high level of cocaine in his system of the magnitude which has been associated with fatality.
"He also has a level of alcohol higher than the drink-drive limit. He didn’t have a particular history of mental health and he had things to be looking forward to.
"There were no notes confirming he intended to kill himself. His level of intoxication was such that I can’t say that he intended to bring about his death."
Recording a narrative conclusion, Mr Morris added: "Jake suspended himself by the neck whilst under the influence of cocaine and alcohol."
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