Boy, 16, killed himself after ‘relentless’ bullying for being gay and autistic

A teenager killed himself after school bullies ‘relentlessly’ targeted him for being gay and autistic, an inquest has heard.

Cameron Warwick, aged 16, from Fareham in Hampshire, southern England, didn’t turn up to college on 4 September last year. He was later found dead in Fort Fareham Woods.

His mother, Kerry Warwick, said he came out as gay at the age of 12 but that bullies targeted him for it. Cameron also had autism and struggled with depression.

Coroner Jason Pegg recorded a verdict of suicide at Portsmouth Coroner’s Court, the Mail Online reports.

Cameron was relentlessly bullied at school

Mom Kerry told the court that Cameron struggled to cope with the bullying and responded by self-harming. He had also made a previous attempt on his life in 2017.

After the hearing she said: ‘They would bully him and isolate him.

‘They would throw things like food at him, trip him up in the corridor, and call him horrible names.

‘The bullies would prey on the fact that he was gay. He was ostracized, with pupils refusing to sit with him and calling him names.’

Cameron had also broken up from an online relationship with 18-year-old Christopher Robertson shortly before his death.

In a statement, Christopher told the court: ‘I believe Cameron was relentlessly bullied at school by other students for coming out as gay.’

And another friend, Bill Ashcroft, 16, confirmed Cameron was the victim of bullying.

He added: ‘One boy at school told him he was ugly.’

Kerry said Cameron was a talented artist. Much of his work was based on ‘furries’, humanoid animals. But he also created pieces depicting suicide.

Meanwhile, he had been overwhelmed by exam stress and failed to get the math GCSE grade he needed to enroll in a gaming course at college.

His mother tried to reassure him, pointing out he had passed other GCSEs, but said he couldn’t see beyond his math grade.

Cameron’s dad also paid tribute their ‘much-loved, gentle and kind’ son.

He added: ‘His illness made it impossible for him to continue to live in a world which he did not understand, and one which made little effort to understand him.’

The new headteacher of Fareham Academy said he hadn’t been in post when Cameron was at the school last year. But he insisted they had a ‘robust’ policy on bullying.

Support for LGBT+ people

LGBT+ people are more likely to struggle with poor mental health. But you can find help and support.

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