Mystery surrounds death of missing teenager Richard Okorogheye found in pond

The student was found dead in Wake Valley Pond in Essex in April 2021, two weeks after he was reported missing

Richard Okorogheye, 19, was found in Wake Valley Pond in Essex on April 5 2021, two weeks after he was reported missing (PA)

A student drowned in a pond in Epping Forest but mystery surrounds how he came to be in the water, with an inquest recording an open conclusion.

Richard Okorogheye, 19, was found in Wake Valley Pond in Essex on April 5 2021, two weeks after he went missing from his home in Ladbroke Grove, west London, on the evening of March 22.

Essex area coroner Sean Horstead said he was satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Mr Okorogheye died on March 23 before he was reported missing, based on information including the last activity of his phone.

Computer science student Mr Okorogheye, who was enrolled at Oxford Brookes University, had sickle cell anaemia.

He left the block of flats where he lived at 8.34pm on March 22, 2021 while his mother was on a night shift as a nurse, the hearing in Chelmsford was told.

He took a bus to a shop to buy rum, wine and cigarettes, then visited the address of a female sex worker where he paid £300 for two one-hour sessions.

The woman, who police spoke to, said that Mr Okorogheye did not have full sex but had a massage and was drinking at the premises.

She said the student was “in good spirits” and said he would call his mother while in a minicab on the way home, the coroner said.

Mr Okorogheye left the address at 11.36pm and took a minicab to Loughton in Essex, where he was dropped near the Victoria Tavern pub.

Driver Mohammed Halas said his passenger “appeared well, didn’t engage in conversation, just sat in the back of the car listening to something on his earphones”, the coroner said.

Mr Halas said the journey took around one hour and he dropped off his fare at 12.29am.

The coroner said: “We will sadly never know why he was in Epping and why he walked to that destination.

“We will also not know how he found himself in the water.

“We are in the realms of speculation.

“It’s possible he tripped and fell.”

The means by which the deceased came to be in the water couldn’t be ascertained

Essex area coroner Sean Horstead

He continued: “What we do know from the evidence is he wasn’t a swimmer, didn’t like water and encouraged his mother to facilitate him not having to do swimming lessons.

“It adds to the mystery of how he found himself on the edge of this small lake and found himself tragically and fatally in the waters.”

He said he had “no hesitation of coming to the conclusion there’s no third-party involvement in this case”.

The coroner said it appeared from the evidence that Mr Okorogheye, who was referred to at the inquest as Richard Christian at the request of family members who attended, “wasn’t particularly enjoying (his university) course and wasn’t particularly getting on well with it”.

He said there was no evidence to suggest Mr Okorogheye had wanted to take his own life.

Recording an open conclusion, Mr Horstead said Mr Okorogheye died in the early hours of March 23 2021 when he entered Wake Valley Pond and drowned.

“The means by which the deceased came to be in the water couldn’t be ascertained,” he said.

He praised the “strength and fortitude” of the student’s mother Evidence Joel and offered his “most sincere condolences”.

The coroner said he had heard from representatives of the Met Police regarding missing person investigations.

He said there had been “lessons to be learned” but that steps had already been taken, including reminders to some of those involved of their responsibilities, and he was told of plans for a centralised hub for vulnerable missing person cases, due to be active by the end of 2023.

He indicated that based on what he had heard, he would not be writing a report for the prevention of future deaths.