Vulnerable Asperger's sufferer, 20, killed himself and lay dead in his flat for up to five days after being mercilessly bullied on Facebook, beaten up and sent threatening texts for being gay

Jack Ellis, 20, was living in housing for vulnerable adults in Somerset

He was meant to be regularly monitored and also had weekly GP meetings

Had previously told doctor he was bullied over his sexuality in sixth-form

Also confided in her that he had been sexually assaulted a few years ago 

Diabetic found dead on March 8 - thought to have lain there up to five days

Mother claims he was 'failed by everyone' - shouting at GP during inquest

Sister said flat was meant to be 'safe place but 'nobody noticed he was dead'

Coroner ruled on balance of probabilities he died from self-inflicted overdose

A tormented young Asperger's sufferer killed himself and lay dead in his flat for up to a week after he was mercilessly taunted and threatened over his sexuality.

Jack Ellis, 20, who was also diabetic, is believed to have deliberately overdosed while at his home in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.

He had been living at a supported housing flat for vulnerable adults and his family say that he was supposed to be regularly monitored.

His body was found on March 8 with a suicide note - but the delay in finding him meant tests could not reveal his precise cause of death, an inquest heard.

Mr Ellis had been visiting his GP, Cordelia Feuchtwang, with mental health conditions for four years and often saw her once a week while she liaised with his teachers, social worker and other medical teams.   

In a tense inquest, his distraught mother Helen, 57, accused Dr Feuchtwang of failing her son.

She shouted across the court: 'You failed him. All of you people, you failed him.'

An emotional Dr Feuchtwang solemnly replied: 'I think at some level we have all failed him. I feel sad about that.'

The inquest at Flax Bourton, near Bristol, heard that Mr Ellis was bullied over his sexuality at college, over Facebook and via text.

He was left with a bloody and scratched face after he was physically attacked by one thug just six weeks before his death. 

His mother, flanked by daughters Rebecca Weeks, 39, and Amber Camm, 27, told the inquest: 'She (Dr Feuchtwang) never got together with the people who were involved with him.

'There was no multi-disciplinary hearing. She never went to see where he lived. The social worker, they failed him. They didn't know how long he laid dead in that room.'

 

More...

• Young mother of two hanged herself in drunken 'cry for help' after two-bottles-a-night wine habit destroyed her marriage 
• 'Loving' mother, 46, who died with her son, 10, in apparent murder suicide by leaping into path of train 'had been widowed'

Dr Feuchtwang, who works at a surgery in Yatton, Somerset, replied: 'It's true he didn't have a multi-disciplinary team all in the same room, but we all spent a lot of time speaking on the phone about Jack.

'I think that looking after Jack for several years, there were many times I contacted the mental health team and had long discussions.

'I was also in contact with his teachers and his social worker.'

Mr Ellis, who was a train enthusiast, first visited his doctor in August 2009 when he was 16 to talk about how we was being bullied over his sexuality.

He had previously tried to overdose and Dr Feuchtwang and his diabetes nurse had limited his prescriptions to make sure he never had more than a week's supply of medication.

She told the inquest he also confided feeling depressed over being sexually assaulted by a man involved in the 'train system' a number of years ago.

'He told me about his sexuality and the fact that he got bullied about it,' the GP added.

'He was quite worried about how he would cope at sixth form and how his temper got him into trouble at school.'

Speaking about a meeting in January this year, she added: 'He had just been assaulted. He was being pursued by people on Facebook. People sent him threatening messages, I think on text.'

But she said he was 'more positive than normal' during what would become their final appointment in February.

Mr Ellis's mother Helen last saw her son on March 3 for lunch, but when he did not reply to texts and calls

for five days she visited his flat, run by housing association Curo for vulnerable people.

She called an ambulance when she could not rouse him and paramedics discovered Mr Ellis dead in bed next to a stack of papers containing a suicide note.

A post mortem revealed he could have been dead for a week.

Recording a narrative verdict, senior coroner Maria Voisin said she could not be sure of suicide, but added: 'On the balance of probability, Jack Ellis died due to a self inflicted over dose.'

Speaking after the inquest, his sister Rebecca said he was mercilessly bullied over his sexuality and was 'very vulnerable'.

She said: 'He was dead in his room for a few days before anyone found him.'

'He was supposed to be in a safe place and nobody noticed he was dead.

'It was supposed to be monitored, with a key worker, but it became quite apparent when the key workers went home at 5pm people were just left alone.'

His mother added: 'He was a very loving and caring boy. He had lots of friends. He was failed by everyone.'