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Scot Young inquest: property tycoon under 'huge stress' before death
Death of property tycoon Scot Young cannot be ruled suicide, finds coroner
(about 4 hours later)
Property tycoon Scot Young felt under huge stress from his bankruptcy and high-profile divorce in the months before his body was discovered outside luxury flats, an inquest has heard.
The death of a bankrupt property tycoon who was impaled on railings after he fell from a fourth floor luxury flat can not be ruled as suicide due to insufficient evidence, a coroner has concluded.
The 52 year old, who was jailed during a vitriolic and public divorce row over a multimillion-pound settlement, died in Marylebone, central London, on 8 December, in what witnesses described as a “grisly” and “brutal” scene.
Scot Young, 52, who battled drug problems and was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder, had been discharged from hospital hours before he was found outside the central London flat he shared with his girlfriend.
An inquest at Westminster coroner’s court in London on Thursday heard the cause of death was “multiple injuries consistent with a fall from height”.
The father-of-two, who was sent to prison in January 2013 for repeatedly refusing to reveal his finances during a public divorce row, told his partner Noelle Reno, a model, he was going to jump out of the window moments before he was found.
In a statement read to the court by coroner Shirley Radcliffe, Young’s GP, Dr Soraya Meer, said he had been treated for bipolar disorder and for cocaine, cannabis and alcohol abuse since 2011.
Recording a narrative verdict at Westminster coroner’s court on Thursday, coroner Shirley Radcliffe said: “I have concluded that there is inconclusive evidence to determine his state of mind and intention when he came out of the window.”
“He reported being under huge stress due to his bankruptcy and high-profile divorce,” she said.
Young’s two daughters, Sasha and Scarlett, do not believe their father killed himself but police have insisted there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.
Young was jailed for six months for contempt of court during his divorce from former partner Michelle as she accused him of hiding away more than £400m.
The coroner agreed. “I think the police are entirely correct in that there is no suspicious circumstances,” she said.
A high court hearing was told that Young’s estranged wife remained empty handed more than three months after she was awarded £20m by a judge.
Reno, who appeared in the Ladies Of London reality TV show with Young, told the court he unexpectedly turned up at their flat on 8 December last year.
Young’s American model girlfriend, Noelle Reno, one of the stars of the Ladies Of London reality TV show, said in a statement following his death that she was distraught by the sudden loss of her best friend and wanted to grieve in peace.
“He was desperate, more than I have ever seen him,” Reno said. “Desperate in a different kind of way. He was completely sober. It was the first time I had actually seen him cry.”
Young and Reno appeared together in the show, alongside model Caprice and other London socialites.
After Reno left the property, Young sent a text to her minutes before his death which read: “Now I’ve hit rock bottom as you will see! Loved you like no other. Love you always and forever.”
Psychiatrist Dr Rachel Berg told the inquest that Young had taken an overdose of sleeping pills and anti-depressants in 2006, which she described as self-harm of “moderate intent”. She said that despite receiving treatment for repeated mental health episodes which resulted in him being sectioned under the Mental Health Act, he had not thought of hurting himself again until shortly before he died.
He then told her on the phone: “I’m going to jump out of the window. Stay on the phone, you will hear me.”
But days before he was found dead, Young complained of having trouble sleeping and paranoid thoughts.
Reno, who dated Young on and off for five-and-a-half years, said he told her he had taken cocaine every day for three weeks before he was admitted to hospital in early December.
Berg told the coroner’s court: “He felt there was a conspiracy to kill him and felt that his girlfriend might be a part of the conspiracy because she was turning the lights on and off.”
Psychiatrist Dr Rachel Berg told the inquest Young requested admission to hospital on 4 December after experiencing paranoid thoughts and hearing a male voice telling him it was “the end of the world”.
After hearing a male voice telling him it was “the end of the world” he requested admission to hospital on 4 December 2014, where he reported having thoughts of harming himself again.
“He felt there was a conspiracy to kill him and felt that his girlfriend might be a part of the conspiracy because she was turning the lights on and off,” Dr Berg said.
“He said his children acted as a protective force, that his daughters were preventing him from doing that, that they were something worth living for and actually prevented him from doing that,” Berg told the inquest.
But the court was told Young was discharged from hospital on the day of his death after his latest psychotic episode was considered to be “drug-induced”.
Young admitted to heavy cocaine use at this time, which he described as unusual for him, and that he had been drinking six large vodkas a day, the inquest heard.
Young admitted to “heavy” cocaine use at this time, which he described as unusual for him, and that he had been drinking “six large vodkas” a day.
The court heard Young was discharged from hospital on the day of his death after his latest psychotic episode was considered to be drug-induced.
Dr Berg said she was “shocked” to learn Young had died hours later.
Berg said: “He wasn’t voicing suicidal thoughts or thoughts of hurting himself. I found him very stable in his mental state. There was absolutely nothing inappropriate or unusual about how he was behaving.”
“It was really unexpected,” she told the court. “It was certainly not something I would have predicted at the time I saw him.”
Berg said she was shocked to learn Young had died hours later. “It was really unexpected,” she told the court. “It was certainly not something I would have predicted at the time I saw him.”
The inquest heard he felt under “huge stress” from his bankruptcy and high-profile divorce in the months before his death.
The court was played a voicemail message Young left for his daughter Scarlett minutes before his death. In the message, he said: “Hi darling. Just want to say love you loads. Miss you terribly,” before he added: “Love you. Bye.”
Young was jailed for six months in January 2013 for contempt of court during his high-profile matrimonial row with former wife, Michelle Young, as she accused him of hiding away more than £400m.
Commenting on the message, Berg told the court: “He loved his daughters. It was a caring message. It felt very normal to me. He seemed very well and in the same state as when he left hospital.”
A high court hearing heard that Young’s estranged wife remained empty-handed more than three months after she was awarded £20m by a judge.
Dr Nathaniel Cary, a pathologist who carried out a postmortem examination on Young’s body, told the inquest that the cause of death had been “multiple injuries consistent with a fall from height and impaling”.
Dr Nathaniel Cary, a pathologist who carried out a post-mortem examination on Young’s body, told the inquest that the cause of death had been “multiple injuries consistent with a fall from height and impaling”.
The victim suffered extensive damage in the chest area, including his heart, both lungs and the aorta, with no evidence to suggest he had been forcibly gripped before dying, Cary said. He told the inquest: “I concluded that death would have been almost instantaneous upon impact, in other words he would have felt nothing about it.”
Emergency services found that the door to the upper floor flat was locked from inside and that a forced entry had not been made. There was a Diet Coke, a lighter and a packet of cigarettes on the sill next to the sash window where Young fell from. The pathologist confirmed that Young’s girlfriend had called police before his death to say that he had threatened to jump.
Dr Susan Paterson, who conducted a toxicology report, said cocaine was not found in Young’s blood following his death. However levels of cocaine detected in his hair, which indicated drug use over the last six months, were “very, very high,” she said.
Giving evidence, Reno – who dated Mr Young on and off for five and a half years – said he told her he had taken cocaine every day for three weeks before he was admitted to hospital in early December.
She said the pair were still living together but were no longer in a relationship when he unexpectedly turned up at their flat on 8 December after he was discharged.
Reno said she had arranged for a locksmith to change the locks at the property that day. “I had tried to get him out of the flat for a long time,” she told the court. “If he didn’t go to a recovery programme, I couldn’t have him in my life.”
Reno said Young pleaded with her to allow him to stay but she refused. “He was desperate, more than I have ever seen him. Desperate in a different kind of way. He was completely sober. It was the first time I had actually seen him cry.”
Reno said she dropped her Blackberry phone in the toilet as Young became “angry and irate” when she repeatedly refused to allow him to stay at the flat.
The court heard Young rang Reno after she left the property and said: “I’m going to jump out of the window. Stay on the phone, you will hear me.”
