A teenage boy who had been teased at school about his sexuality was killed after he lay down in front of a speeding train, an inquest heard today.
Jonathan Reynolds was struck by the train travelling at 85mph through Pencoed railway station near Bridgend, south Wales, on the evening of January 25 of last year.
The 15-year-old from Parkfields Road, Bridgend, sent a text message to his father, Mark, and sister Samantha – aged 14 at the time – just moments before he stepped onto the track in which he blamed the “people who were horrible and injust 2 me“.
It read: “Tell everyone that this is for anybody who eva said anything bad about me, see I do have feelings too.
“Blame the people who were horrible and injust 2 me. This is because of them, I am human just like them.
“I hope they rot in hell 4 what they made me do. They know who they are.”
He added: “None of you blame urself mum, dad, Sam and the rest of my family. This is not because of you.”
A post-mortem showed Jonathan, who was a star pupil and achieved an A grade in his GCSE Welsh oral exam on the day he died, had alcohol three-and-a-half times the limit for driving in his blood stream.
The jury inquest at Merthyr magistrates’ court heard the Bryntirion Comprehensive school pupil had heated rows over the phone with two friends, Saphra Hayes and Nicola Kennett, while in his bedroom on the evening he died.
Although in police interview both girls said they ended their conversation on good terms with Jonathan, his mother Caroline told the inquest that she believed these arguments had been a “catalyst” for his actions.
She said: “He was to all intents and purposes, in for the night and then following a few angry phone calls he changed his mind and went out and wouldn’t change his mind.”
South Wales Police took the lead in the investigation because of the nature of the text message to his father and sister.
Detective Inspector Russell Warwick said: “There were no issues that constituted criminality during the course of the investigation.”
There was also no reports of Jonathan complaining of bullying at Bryntirion Comprehensive school in the months leading up to his death.
Detective Chief Inspector Sandra England of the British Transport Police told the inquest that one of Jonathan’s best friends, Aimee Murray, said he had confided in her that he was gay just weeks before he died.
Miss Murray told police that Jonathan had been teased about his sexuality by a number of boys in school and that it was getting him down.
She also said he had been using concealer on his face because of acne.
Thomas Coleman from Pencoed was walking his two dogs with his wife near the railway station at 8.25pm when he saw Jonathan on the line.
“He had a mobile in his hand,” said Mr Coleman. “I called out and said ’Get off the track.’
“He looked at me and just put his head back down and I saw him walking across the track.
“I was walking across the bridge and he was walking across the track and he seemed to lay down and the train came.”
Mr Coleman said the teenager was alone and appeared to be walking normally.
William Roberts was driving the Arriva train from Cardiff to Carmarthen when he saw Jonathan jump down from the platform at Pencoed station and onto the track.
He said: “I started to blow the horn. He was walking across the line right across the track and just lay down on the line.”
Mr Roberts said he applied the emergency brake but there was no chance of saving Jonathan’s life as the stopping distance for a train travelling at that speed was three quarters of a mile.
Dr Alan Rees, a pathologist at the Princess of Wales hospital in Bridgend, concluded Jonathan died of multiple injuries.
An open verdict was unanimously recorded by the jury.
Mr and Mrs Reynolds released a statement following the inquest in which they said: “We don’t know how he got to Pencoed or why he took the action he did that night, but we do know that Jonathan could not have been more loved and cherished than he was, and that his actions were completely out of the blue and have left us utterly devastated and asking why?”
They added: “Some information heard today suggested Jonathan might have been confused about his sexuality, as many teenagers can be during adolescence.
“We will never know if this really was a cause for concern for Jonathan, but we do know that Jonathan knew we loved and accepted him unconditionally.”
If you are a victim of homophobic bullying, please contact us at GenQ.
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