A TALENTED musician struggled to cope after the loss of his treasured video content on his YouTube account.
Jonathan ‘Jonti’ Thackray, born in Crewe in 1972 but who lived in Barnton, died at his home address on April 16 aged 51.
An inquest was formally opened and concluded at Warrington Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, with it being heard that he acted to take his own life.
A statement from a friend and fellow musician who had known Jonti for 20 years was read out to the court, and this highlighted how he suffered from mental and physical health issues.
He had been diagnosed as bipolar and was struggling with his breathing, not all the time, but which appeared to be made worse by stress.
He had a YouTube channel where he would upload ‘treasured’ music and family videos, with the court hearing this was ‘really important’ to him.
In the summer of 2023, Jonti started to talk about collaborating with people in America over the social media platform Discord.
The court heard how Jonti thought he was going to receive recognition, but on February 1 this year, he discovered the entire contents of his YouTube channel and family memories had been deleted by people he was working with.
He also began to receive messages of ‘utter vitriol’ towards him calling him a ‘horrible person’, and he also began to receive abuse on Discord.
This led to an attempt on his own life, but he was taken to Leighton Hospital before being released.
On February 4, he told his friend that ‘everything was fine again’, but he later said he felt ‘ashamed’ by the loss of his video content.
The court heard the person from America, whom he had been working with, said they were going to share recordings of their personal phone calls with his loved ones, which included ‘statements they would not be happy with’.
It was said he was frightened by the damage this could do through the person ‘weaponizing’ them, and that the loss of his YouTube content impacted his mental health.
On April 16, messages sent to him by his friend had not been read, which was ‘completely out of character’ for him.
They went round to his home at around 6.30pm but got no answer when ringing the bell or knocking on the door.
The friend looked through the letterbox, saw him not moving and called the police. Officers and paramedics arrived, but he was pronounced dead at 7.05pm.
The statement from the friend told the court that prior to his death, Jonti said his ‘mind was collapsing’ from the loss of his ‘loved and treasured’ videos.
They also stated, in their opinion, the people he was collaborating with ‘preyed on, manipulated and controlled him’ by ‘weaponizing’ his content.
The inquest heard police were satisfied Jonti’s death was ‘not suspicious'.
Jacqueline Devonish, senior coroner for Cheshire, reached a conclusion of suicide and added: “All that remains is to therefore extend condolences to the family.”
Tributes were paid to him by friends on social media in the days following his death.
One said: “My heart is broken over the loss of the love we shared, and of his beautifully complicated mind.
“All that unrecognised talent, now lost forever. It's a tragedy.”
Samaritans is available round the clock, every single day of the year, providing a safe place to talk for anyone who is struggling to cope.
Call 116 123 (this number is free to call and will not appear on your phone bill), 01204 521200 or email jo@samaritans.org.
Alternatively, Papyrus is dedicated to helping people under 35 at risk of suicide through its HopelineUK service.
Visit papyrus-uk.org/hopelineuk/ or call 0800 068 4141, text 07786209697 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article