Bournemouth 13-year-old's drug death an 'extreme tragedy'

Rachael Griffin, senior coroner for Dorset, described the death of Mehmet Altun as an “extreme tragedy".

Dorset Coroner’s Court heard that he died at Poole Hospital on August 19 last year after he had fallen ill and become unresponsive at his home in Columbia Road.

Tests showed that Mehmet had diazepam, amphetamine and methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA – commonly known as ecstasy) in his system.

It is believed he bought nine ecstasy pills and took two of them.

The teenager’s medical cause of death was MDMA toxicity, while Mrs Griffin concluded it was a drug-related death.

Addressing Mehmet’s family at the end of the inquest at Bournemouth Town Hall on Tuesday, August 16, she said: “If there is anything positive that can come out of the extreme tragedy that you have gone through it is to warn others to the dangers of taking drugs and other substances and that it can have the consequences of a tragic loss of life.

“I wish to say how very sorry I am. Mehmet was a young boy who had his whole life ahead him. You couldn’t have cared for him any more. It is just so very tragic that he made the choice he did on that day and my thoughts are very much with you.”

Mehmet Altun. Picture supplied by family

The inquest heard Mehmet had previously been involved in dealing drugs through the exploitation of a county lines drugs gang.

Mehmet disclosed this to his family and alongside council social services, efforts were made to protect him and get him away from bad influences.

Social worker Valerie Musaigwa told the inquest she had contact with Mehmet between March and August 2021 following concerns about his involvement with drug dealing.

She said he never told her had taken drugs and there were no signs he was using drugs at all.

Mrs Musaigwa said Mehmet was a “very happy boy” who had a "very supportive" family.

The inquest heard in the weeks prior to his death Mehmet wanted to be given more freedoms to go out on his own.

His mother, Aynur Altun, said she was concerned about her son but she wanted to build trust with him by allowing him out on his own for short periods of time.

She said he had changed schools but the family still had concerns about the Poole school he had been placed in due to the people he was coming into contact with.

Until around 1pm on August 19, Mehmet had spent the majority of the day in normal fashion at home before he went out on his bicycle.

When returned home later that afternoon and he was sweating and his behaviour was “erratic”.

It appeared he had been rolling around on his bed and messing up his bed which was unusual.

He was subsequently vomitted and his family were very concerned and kept a close eye on him.

His sister Yaz Altun told the inquest that she thought something was “very wrong”. She said his cheeks were very red, his eyes were very big and he was sweating.

Mehmet Altun. Picture supplied by family

She said she discovered Mehmet had been messaging someone on his phone about being under the influence and letting this person know how he felt.

Mehmet told his sister that he had bought three tablets, taken two and thrown one away, the inquest heard.

She said he seemed “a bit paranoid” and he said that he wanted to sleep.

His condition deteriorated. He was still breathing but he stopped responding or was speaking “gibberish” and the family called for an ambulance.

Paramedics attended and carried out life support before he was transferred to Poole Hospital, where he died a short time later.

The family said they did not have any indication that Mehmet took drugs.

Mehmet’s mother said: “I was watching him all the time but I am very upset that I did not realise what went on.”

The coroner said she must not feel that way. Mrs Griffin added: “You did what I suspect most mothers would do to give him that element of trust and freedom and as I say there is a fine balance of being an authoritative figure as parents are required to be but also allowing freedoms, allowing children to live.”

Detective Sergeant Julie Dransfield, who was involved in Dorset Police’s investigation into Mehmet’s death, said officers found seven orange tablets and £40 in a computer game case hidden in the spare room of the home.

Police also found some brown vegetation, which was believed to be cannabis and two bags of white powder.

The tablets were tested and found to contain MDMA and caffeine, while the white powder was caffeine, DS Dransfield said.

Mrs Griffin said it was possible this could have been why Mehmet said “Xbox” to his sister when she was trying to work out what he had taken.

An analysis of Mehmet’s phone found some messages between him and another person, which suggested he was setting up a deal to purchase nine tablets.

CCTV enquiries had been able to follow the teenager to the cafe at Slades Farm but it had not been possible to trace his route from there back to his home.

Both Mehmet’s sister and mother expressed concerns around the school Mehmet was placed in and that families should be able to have more of a say in choosing schools.

Mrs Griffin said this was outside the remit of the inquest but added that the family could take this up with the relevant authorities.

The coroner said it will never be known why Mehmet took the drugs. She said: “Sadly, the only person who will ever know why he did take them was Mehmet himself.”

Mrs Griffin expressed her sympathies to all of Mehmet’s family and praised them for their work to date in trying to educate others around the dangers of taking drugs.

A 14-year-old boy from Bournemouth was arrested on suspicion of supplying a controlled drug of class A following Mehmet’s death. A Dorset Police spokeswoman said he was still released under investigation.