Family’s tragedy as court hears Sean Barber died by suicide

The inquest into the death of 23-year-old Sean Barber, of Shipley, concluded at Bradford Coroners’ Court on Tuesday.

Assistant Coroner Charlotte Keighley deemed that Sean died by suicide after many years of dealing with his mental health, which was exacerbated by the sudden death of his 15-year-old sister, Leah Barber.

His family – mum Clare Hewson, step-dad Mark Hewson, dad Phillip Barber – and two family friends attended the inquest.

Sean enjoying his holiday in Blackpool, a week before he died (Image: UGC) Sean, who lived at home with his mum, step-dad, and younger brother, died from multiple injuries on August 11, just a week after the family had enjoyed a holiday together in Blackpool.

In a statement read out to court from his mum said: “We cannot describe how heartbreaking this is, I just can’t believe this has happened.”

She added: “I couldn’t accept it, I couldn’t believe this was happening again to our family”.

Sean made a lot of friends at school and was always out socialising, as well as enjoying skateboarding and playing his Xbox, the court heard.

His mum said Sean would “tirelessly wind me up”.

The court heard Sean first started to struggle with his mental health in March 2016, when a referral was made to CAMHS by the school nurse, and had suicidal thoughts since he was 15.

The death of his sister Leah led to Sean’s mental health worsening, the court heard.

Sean Barber (right) with sister Leah Barber, who also died by suicide in 2019 (Image: UGC) Sean discovered a note from Leah and left for work after informing his mother before she was found dead.

Mrs Keighley said: “This troubled him for the rest of his life.

“He was close to Leah and her death was something Sean struggled to process and had a significant impact on his mental health.”

Sean was referred to the Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) team in September 2021 and a three-year service was accepted.

The court heard Sean suffered extreme audio and visual hallucinations, episodes of disassociation, and PTSD.

He had flashbacks and dreams of Leah and reported to his psychiatrist he was seeing his sister and hearing her shouting and screaming.

Sean was put on medication and later agreed to therapy.

The court heard Sean responded well and “experienced some periods of stability through medication and wide-ranging support”.

Mrs Keighley said: “He was able to in part address the emotional impact of his sister’s death and spoke openly about his feelings”.

Sean Barber (Image: UGC) Sean had an on-off relationship, the nature of which impacted his mental health, the court heard.

Mrs Keighley said: “On August 8/9 that relationship finally came to an end leaving Sean feeling upset and heartbroken.”

He appeared to be in “happy spirits” on August 10 and convinced his mum and step-dad to go to a family gathering.

There he told his mum he was still experiencing intrusive thoughts but his discussions with family helped lift his spirits and he was planning to go to work the following week and a tattoo in the future.

On the morning of August 11, Sean and his mum had a coffee together and chatted.

He told his mum at 10.30am he was going for a walk by himself, which was something he would often do.

Before leaving, he hugged his mum and told her he loved her.

Sean had not returned after a few hours and his mum noticed his Facebook had not been active since 11am so became concerned.

But before they could report him missing they were informed by police that Sean’s body had been found, the court heard.

Mrs Keighley said: “It’s clear Sean was a much loved and valued young man who still was haunted by the death of his younger sister who took her own life in 2019.

“Sean was a young man who had so much life to live and he’s missed and dearly missed by those who love him.”

She added: “The impact of his death has been profound on the family – it’s incomprehensible to lose one child, let alone two.”

Mrs Keighley said the family will “suffer for the rest of your life” but hopes the conclusion of the inquest “allows you to move on”.

She added: “All I can offer you is my deepest and sincerest of condolences.”

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