Boy 14, hanged himself over his heartbreak
after unrequited love
Ben Perrin, 14, hanged himself from his bunk bed after he became besotted with a girl he meet at the EuroDisney theme park, near Paris, France, a few weeks earlier.
He left a heartbreaking suicide note to 15-year-old Zoe McAllister. The young couple had been trying to arrange to meet each other, but lived 100 miles apart and Zoe was worried her parents wouldn't allow her to travel to see him.
On the morning of his death Ben sent a text message to Zoe, saying: 'I’m sorry, I love you more than anything in the world.'
He was found, dressed in his school uniform, with his school tie around his neck, hanging from his bunk beds by his older sister, Ellie, 17, later that day. She cut him down and dialled 999, but paramedics were unable to save him. An inquest heard that a series of suicide notes were found addressed to family and friends in his bedroom.
Ben's parents, Louise and Ray Perrin, who are separated, said they were unaware their son had any problems at school or home and had not noticed anything untoward about his mood. Mr Perrin, 45, an electrical engineer, said: 'Ben was a little star and my best friend. He had a lot of determination for everything he did.'
Mrs Perrin, 43, a business administration manager at an NHS hospital, described her son as a 'very normal teenager.He had so much confidence and a bright and smiley personality, everybody loved him,' she added.
Recording a verdict of suicide, Kirit Champaneria, assistant deputy coroner for north Wales, said no-one could have foreseen that Ben would take his own life.
'The only clue that there is to what might have been going on in Benjamin’s mind comes from the emails and text messages and the note left by him for this girl he met in Disneyland, there is nothing at all to give a reason why.' Mr Champaneria said.
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Ben Perrin, 14, hanged himself from his bunk bed after he became besotted with a girl he meet at the EuroDisney theme park, near Paris, France, a few weeks earlier.