Boy ‘didn’t intend to kill himself’ - inquest

A 12-YEAR-OLD boy found dead at a derelict mill did not intend to take his own life, a coroner has ruled.

- BY AMY FENTON, HOPE GALLAGHER

Brody O'Brien was tragically found dead in a former mill in Market Street, Whitworth, on October 7, 2025. An inquest into Brody's death was held at Preston Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, January 21.

Brody was born in Halifax and lived with his parents, Simon, a mechanical engineer, and Jade Hoyle, at their home in Whitworth.

While suicide is a conclusion open to a coroner it requires them to be sure, on the balance of probabilities, that an individual intended to take their own life and did a deliberate act in order to do so.

Returning a narrative conclusion, Area Coroner, Emma Mather, said: “On the 7th October 2025 Brody O’Brien died at Whitworth Mill on Market Street in Rochdale.

“He did not intend to cause his death in doing so”

Some details have been removed from the coroner's conclusion.

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