Manchester Uni student killed himself while isolating during COVID outbreak
19-year-old Finn Kitson's family say he was "a beautiful and brilliant young man"
A 19-year-old student with a history of anxiety killed himself while self-isolating after a flatmate tested positive for Covid-19, an inquest heard.
Finn Kitson, from Cambridge, was told to isolate along with the rest of his household for two weeks after arriving nine days earlier to begin his politics and international relations studies at the University of Manchester.
The hearing was told how the coronavirus outbreak had already disrupted his gap year travelling with friends in south-east Asia.
After just five weeks of his adventure abroad, he arrived into a UK under national lockdown in March 2020, Manchester Coroner's Court heard on Monday.
His mother, Jane Denney, told the inquest:
"I think it was quite an awful time. He had all this excitement for his gap year and of course it all got cut short and he came back to not being able to do anything. He couldn't get a job."
She said the summer months for her son, who had also recently broke up with his girlfriend, were "miserable", but she genuinely thought he was "excited" about moving to Manchester in September and "looking forward to the next stage of his life".
Finn met up with friends also studying in the city and socialised as much as he could before a fellow student in his halls of residence in Fallowfield tested positive, the inquest heard.
Later during his isolation period, the university decided all tutorials would be held remotely while infection rates in the area increased.
Mrs Denney said:
"I know he felt very very isolated - literally - and he didn't really leave his room very much at all. He didn't know the people in his flat either."
On September 30, he attended a Zoom session with his academic adviser, the inquest heard.
The university's residential life advisers would also regularly contact students living in halls, although no evidence was provided that Finn was either seen or spoken to during his self-isolation.
Security staff found Finn hanging in his room on October 8 2020, a day after his family raised concerns and two days before the self-isolation period was due to end.
He previously had been diagnosed with anxiety at the age of 14 or 15, and was later prescribed the anti-depressant fluoxetine. He also underwent therapy with a consultant psychiatrist.
Finn stopped taking fluxoxetine after he returned from his interrupted gap year as he told his mother he felt "much better".
Recording a conclusion of suicide, area coroner Zak Golombeck said:
"It is clear that the Covid-19 pandemic had an affect on his plans, both earlier on in the year in respect of his travel and then more approximately to his death, and somewhat more significantly to his mood in the period of isolation that he had to undergo.
"This would be, of course, a difficult period for any person starting a university course in a city with which they are not fully familiar.
"I have no doubt that that period of isolation would have had an effect on his mental health."
Mr Golombeck said he would write a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (Ucas).
On his Ucas application form, Finn had not disclosed his anxiety diagnosis, but the coroner said any prospective student was simply asked to confirm whether they had a "disability or special need".
Mr Golombeck said:
"In my judgment the form and the specific wording of the form does not encourage prospective students to confirm such a diagnosis."
He stressed this did not contribute to the teenager's death but it was "certainly an issue of concern".
Following the inquest, Mrs Denney and Finn's father, Michael Kitson, said in a statement:
"Finn was a beautiful and brilliant young man, and his family miss him desperately.
"We are very pleased that this inquest has shone a spotlight on mental health provision in universities. We welcome the coroner's prevention of future deaths report on this very important issue."
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