Full Breakdown
Fresh Inquest Examines 1994 Death of Anthony Whittle at Welsh Psychiatric Unit
By Drooid · · How we work
Background and Circumstances
Anthony Whittle, a 30-year-old first-year forestry student at Bangor University, was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and admitted to the Hergest psychiatric unit at Ysbyty Gwynedd in late 1994. After a phone call to his parents in Burnley expressing a desire to return home, he was later located wet and barefoot in sand dunes near Prestatyn, Denbighshire. Police transferred him to the Hergest unit, where his father and brother attempted to meet him.
Findings and Official Testimony
The new inquest, opened before a jury of eleven, heard that Whittle made an early escape attempt by running down a corridor and trying to force a door and then a window. Dr Tom McMonagle, the trainee psychiatrist on duty, testified that he believed the interview room had no exit other than the door and that the window was fitted with a safety device to restrict opening. He recounted hearing a report of a person disappearing over the roof in socks before he could return to the room, expressing surprise that the window had been opened without damage.
Family Account and Impact
Christopher Whittle, Anthony’s brother, described hearing a “crash and bang” as the window gave way, after which Anthony was found dead beside the A55 near Llandygai the following morning. He said the family had long pursued a new hearing after the original 1995 inquest was deemed inadequate by the High Court; both parents died in their 90s before the fresh inquest was ordered. Christopher, already coping with post-traumatic stress from the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, said his brother’s death left him traumatised.
Data and Statistics
Why It Matters
The renewed inquiry highlights longstanding concerns about safety protocols in mental-health facilities, particularly the effectiveness of window-restriction devices. It also underscores the prolonged emotional toll on families seeking accountability for institutional failures. The inquest remains ongoing.