'Hero' dad fell to his death during hospital leave

Warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide.

A beloved husband and father-of-two fell to his death from a motorway bridge while on unescorted leave from a privately-run psychiatric hospital, an inquest has heard.

Theo Schooling, 40, was found by the M32 motorway in Bristol while he was a patient at the nearby Priory Hospital on 16 January 2025.

An inquest into his death at Avon Coroner's Court heard that Schooling had been sent miles from his home in London to a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) in November 2024.

Schooling, who had bipolar disorder, was described by his family as "bright, intelligent, charming and extremely kind".

Schooling lost his real mother to cancer at a young age and was raised and later adopted by his aunt and uncle, the inquest was told.

He ran his own business, and was married with two children, who felt he was their "hero".

A keen runner, he took part in the London Marathon raising money for children's charity the Rainbow Trust, but his mental health started to deteriorate after a hernia injury in September 2024 prevented him from exercising.

After a "manic episode" on 16 November, he was detained under the Mental Health Act at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich in south east London, the coroner heard.

A week later, he was transferred 160 miles away to the Priory Hospital in Bristol. Being away from home really affected him, his family said, and he missed his wife and two daughters.

During a month at PICU Purdown Ward, he refused to take one of the medications he was prescribed because of the side effect of stiffness in his legs.

He threatened to kill himself if he was forced to take this medication, prompting nurses to flag him as a suicide risk, but he later showed some improvements and was "stepped down" onto a less severe ward on 16 December.

There were no beds in acute wards available in London, which meant Schooling was moved to another ward at the Priory in Bristol.

On 16 January, his parents took him out to a cafe in Bristol, but his mother said he "didn't seem right", was restless and wouldn't eat.

"Clearly, something was on his mind that he was not sharing," she told the inquest.

"When I hugged him goodbye, he was distant and stiff - physically rigid. He was not himself."

Despite his mother calling the hospital to raise concerns about how he seemed during their visit, Schooling was granted unaccompanied grounds leave that evening.

He left the Priory hospital's grounds and went to the nearby M32 motorway area, where he fell to his death.

A nurse saw him walking the grounds of the hospital less than an hour before he was found dead, but did not have any concerns.

The inquest continues.

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