Inquest into Wigan teen's death ends with open verdict as coroner cannot establish why he drowned

A heartbroken mother still does not know how her son died, as a coroner recorded an open conclusion after an inquest.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Coroner Alan Walsh spent all day on Tuesday listening to evidence about the final hours of 18-year-old Samson Price’s life and the discovery of his body in a Wigan flash on Sunday, October 4, 2020.

Read More
Wigan motorist in court after minor car crash led to angry confrontation

But when he brought the hearing to a close at 6.30pm, he had not been able to establish how Samson came to be in the water where he drowned.

Rosanna Price with son Samson PriceRosanna Price with son Samson Price
Rosanna Price with son Samson Price
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He recorded an open conclusion, explaining there was “insufficient evidence to the appropriate standard of proof to reach any other conclusion”.

Mr Walsh said: “I am very sorry for Samson’s death. Eighteen years old. Somebody with everything to live for, somebody who in many respects was very popular, good at rugby, had many friends, enjoyed life and had a permanent smile on his face.

"And so it is a great tragedy that at 18 years of age, he should die in these circumstances.”

Afterwards, Samson’s mother Rosanna Price said she believed it was the “fairest” conclusion he could reach, but she still had many questions about what happened.

Samson PriceSamson Price
Samson Price
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: “I still haven’t got justice for Samson. Nothing is going to fetch my Samson back. The world has been robbed of an amazing person and I do still want justice.”

Bolton Coroner’s Court heard Samson planned go to night fishing with his cousins Patrick Brown and Logan Liptrot on Saturday, October 3, 2020.

He left his home in Goose Green at 3pm and went to B&Q in Wigan to buy fire logs with them.

The trio travelled to Bolton, where, the court was told, Samson bought LSD – though it was later revealed to be a similar substance called bromoamphetamine .

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

They went to a supermarket to buy snacks and then went to Westwood Flash.

They left the fishing gear in Mr Brown’s van and set up a tent only three feet from the water – despite neither Samson nor Mr Liptrot being able to swim.

The cousins took the LSD, with Samson sending a photograph of himself with “tabs” on his tongue to a friend.

But Samson had a bad reaction to the drugs at around 10pm, the court heard.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Brown said: “He just started acting out of character, he wasn’t making any sense and he wouldn’t listen to none of us.”

A video filmed by Mr Brown at 10.50pm showed Samson clearly under the influence. Mr Liptrot was heard saying, “chuck him in the pond”, something he told the court was a “joke”.

Mr Brown and Mr Liptrot said they decided to get help and walked to the van at 11.15pm to phone Alexander Harold, Mr Liptrot’s best friend.

Mr Harold said: “They had left Samson in the tent. He was freaking out. They got scared and they both didn’t want to be with him, so they said they needed me to come down and be a sober head and help if I could.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Harold arrived on Lockgate Place at 12.50am. But when they got to the tent, he opened the zip and there was no sign of Samson.

They searched for him and just before 1.50am Mr Harold sent Facebook messages to a friend of Samson’s to ask if he had seen him.

Two police officers arrived just after 2.05am after receiving a report of suspicious activity and found Mr Liptrot at the van, who phoned his friends and asked them to go to him. They told police they were camping and did not report Samson was missing.

They got a taxi to Mr Harold’s home at 2.15am, with Mr Brown and Mr Harold returning to Westwood Flash to continue searching for Samson two hours later. They later returned to Mr Harold’s house and slept until 9am.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The inquest heard Mr Liptrot sent messages to his girlfriend during the night, including one at 11.28pm which said: “Samson couldn’t be saved”.

She replied with a question mark, but Mr Liptrot replied 10 minutes later with a picture of him in a van, rather than answering the question.

The men were questioned in court about why they did not alert the police officers, call the emergency services or tell Samson’s family that he was missing, with them saying they did not want to get in trouble.

The next morning, Samson’s cousins Luke Boswell and Kane Jones became aware he was missing. Mr Jones phoned Mrs Price to tell her and her husband called police.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Samson’s body was later found in the water by emergency services.

Home Office forensic pathologist Dr Philip Lumb carried out a post-mortem examination which revealed Samson had died by drowning.

There was nothing to suggest he had been assaulted, but Dr Lumb said he could not rule out a push or other assault which had not left a mark.

Toxicology tests showed Samson had taken drugs including cocaine, cannabis and bromoamphetamine.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Police launched an investigation and three people were arrested, but Det Insp Matthew Hamer said the case was not referred to the Crown Prosecution Service because they did not have evidence to suggest criminality.

Mr Walsh said that after hearing the evidence, he could not say how Samson came to be in the water.

"He could have been pushed in the water. He could have been thrown in the water. He could have jumped in the water. He could have fallen in the water. He could have gone into the water while suffering from an hallucination arising from the use of bromoamphetamine,” he said.

"I don’t exclude any of those explanations as to how he came in the water, but even on the balance of probabilities, I am not able to reach a conclusion as to which of those has caused Samson’s death.”

He also highlighted the risks of buying drugs, particularly as the group thought they were taking LSD and had been given something else.

Related topics: