A teenage couple committed suicide after being arrested and taking their baby to foster care, a jury found.
Katie Powell, 17, and Jack Williams, 18, were found dead at a nature reserve in Dorset, according to a four-week inquest in Bournemouth.
After deliberating for three days, the jury concluded that Katie, from Warwickshire, and Williams, from Dorset, had taken their own lives.
The jury noted that the characteristics of the relationship between Katie and Williams were consistent with her being the victim of controlling and coercive behavior, although they did not conclude that this had directly led to her death.
Coroner Brendan Allen asked Dorset Police for details on how its domestic abuse policies are disseminated to officers after it emerged allegations of coercive behavior had been reported to the force.
Allen has also called on Warwickshire County Council to provide more details about the action it took following a safeguarding review relating to Katie.
The inquest was told the couple’s bodies were found at Bothenhampton Reservoir, near Bridport, on January 25, 2022. They had both been arrested on January 19, 2022 on suspicion of possession of an indecent image.
The coroner told the jury that neither Katie nor the couple’s son were the subject of the alleged image. He also clarified that they had not been charged with any crime.
Katie was reported missing by her family on January 22 and Williams, a waiter, on January 24. Their bodies were found in the nature reserve by a member of the public.
Jurors concluded that the couple had taken their own lives. They said placing their son in foster care, the alleged crime and the prospect of being separated from Williams had “contributed” to Katie’s decision to take her own life.
In their findings, the jury said the couple had met at school in Warwickshire when Katie was 14. She became distant and withdrew from friends and family, and had the child when she was 17. Williams moved to Dorset and the couple spent time together in their flat there.
The jury said in its findings that Katie’s relatives had raised concerns about controlling and coercive behavior and that she had told a social worker that she was in a controlling and coercive relationship. The jury was told a strategic meeting was held between several agencies but no action was taken by Dorset Police.
After being arrested, Katie consented to her son being placed in foster care. “Katie was vulnerable and in a bad mood,” the jury said. She was released on bail on the condition that she have no contact with her son without agreement from social services or Williams.
He returned to a family member’s address in Warwickshire, but escaped to Dorset to be with Williams shortly before he died.
The jury concluded that Williams had had a troubled childhood and had attempted to take his own life “multiple” times before. Jurors said the alleged offense had been a factor in what happened and that the loss of contact with his son after his arrest had caused “a great deal of distress”.
During the inquest, the court heard Williams often belittled Katie and her abilities, isolated her from family and friends and coached her on how to behave and what to say in front of professionals.
Williams was worried about going to prison for an extended period, the inquest heard, but his family’s legal team said there was no evidence he forced Katie to take her life.
Dorset Police and Warwickshire County Council have been approached for comment.
