Boy found dead 'was not trying social media craze'

A boy who died after inhaling toxic fumes during a sleepover at a friend's home was not taking part in a social media craze, a coroner has ruled.

Tommie-lee Gracie Billington, 11, was found unresponsive in his friend's bedroom in Lancaster just after noon on 2 March 2024.

A Snapchat group chat had been set up on the evening of the sleepover on 1 March and a chlid, who was on the group chat, told police that during a video call with group members Tommie-lee and his friend were inhaling toxic substances.

Coroner Emma Mather told the hearing in Preston how, at his young age, he would not be aware of the dangers it could cause and it was recorded as death by misadventure.

On the group chat the friend said Tommie-lee looked pale and unwell but was told by others to carry on and he said he did not want to, the hearing was told.

The boy's mother had been taking another of her children to a weekend activity when she returned home and noticed a really strong smell.

She went into the bedroom and "rolled Tommie-lee over" on the bed and noticed a "tinge of blue" and called an ambulance.

The coroner asked a witness from Lancashire Police: "Is there any evidence this is some sort of game or prank?"

Det Ch Insp Dylan Hrynkow said Tommie-lee's friend whose house he was sleeping at told officers they were "doing it for a laugh".

He said a search of both boys' mobile phones did not reveal any internet searches or relevant messages about social media crazes.

"The evidence that we've gathered suggests that another child in a skate park showed them how to do it," he said.

"There is no evidence that it has come from an online space."

Mather asked the parents of the boy where Tommie-lee was having the sleepover if they had encountered the boys inhaling substances before.

They said three months earlier they had caught both boys inhaling toxic substances in a bedroom.

The mother said her son claimed another boy in a skate park told them how to do it – an incident she reported to a school, the police and Tommie-lee's parents.

Tommie-lee's mother and father strongly disputed that they were made aware of this previous incident.

The coroner said this "may well have been Tommie-lee's first time of using aerosols".

Det Ch Insp Hrynkow said when he arrived at the scene he could smell the toxic substance, although it was some hours after.

He said: "I was concerned that the supervision of Tommie-lee at the sleepover was inadequate – the CPS looked into it and concluded here was no sufficient evidence to press criminal charges."

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