Coroner ‘cannot be satisfied’ that Ricky Hatton intended to take his own life
A coroner has said she “cannot be satisfied” that British former boxing world champion Ricky Hattonintended to take his own life.Hatton, 46, was found dead in his home on 14 September, with the inquest concluding that the official cause of his death was hanging.But the veteran boxer “was the best he had been in years” in the lead-up to his death, his family told Stockport coroner’s court.Hatton’s body was found in his home in Hyde, Greater Manchester, after police received a call from a concerned neighbour, later revealed to have been his manager, Paul Speak.Hatton was last seen by family members on Friday 12 September, when he took his daughters and granddaughter to a pub for a meal, the court heard.
When saying goodbye, Hatton appeared normal and said he would see them in a couple of days after returning from Dubai, where he was due to take part in an exhibition boxing match, the inquest heard.The next day Hatton did not appear at an engagement he was scheduled to attend, and on the morning of Sunday 14 September, Speak went to Hatton’s home to escort him to Manchester airport to fly to Dubai, the court heard.When he did not get a response, Speak entered Hatton’s home, where he found him unresponsive.Speak called the emergency services, but Hatton was pronounced dead.Tests later revealed that Hatton was “well over” the drink-drive limit at the time of his death.
Traces of previous use of cocaine and cannabis were also found.The former world champion had been open about his struggles with clinical depression and substance abuse, saying on one occasion that he “was coming off the rails” with his drink and drug use, describing himself previously as being “like a runaway train”.Postmortem evidence also showed some damage to his brain identified as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) associated with boxing.Alison Mutch, the senior coroner for South Manchester, told the court there was no information uncovered by police to suggest he was planning to take his own life.Concluding the inquest, she said:“I have listened very carefully to all the evidence.
When I add everything together, I cannot be satisfied he intended to take his own life.“Therefore, it is not possible in law for me to conclude suicide.I have concluded a narrative verdict.“His intention remains unclear as he was under the influence of alcohol and the neuropathological postmortem found evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy and that’s the conclusion I draw.”Hatton’s son Campbell said in a statement to the hearing that his father “was always extremely well loved and cherished by all of us”.
“He lived life – in and out of the ring – at 110% and always said he never regretted it,” he added,Campbell acknowledged his father had been open about his struggles with alcohol and drugs, but said: “The family believe he was the best he had been in years and made massive plans for the future which leads us to believe this was not premeditated,“However, over the last two or three years we all noticed a significant decline in his short-term memory,“He repeated himself constantly, had to write things down and had to be reminded about things he had to do day to day,”Jennifer Dooley, Hatton’s former partner and the mother of his daughters – Millie, 13, and Fearne, 12 – said he was a very hands-on father who doted on his children, and they all continued to spend time together after the pair separated in 2016.
“He often said that the time he spent with his daughter was when he was happiest,” she said,In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans,org or jo@samaritans,ie,In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.
org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor.In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14.Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
US stock markets dip for fourth straight week over US-Israel war on Iran
US stock markets dropped again on Friday, capping off a fourth week of market turbulence as investors worried about the US-Israel war on Iran and its widespread impact on global oil prices.The Dow lost over 400 points on Friday, with the S&P 500 slipping 1.5% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 2%.The biggest losses of the week were seen in the Russell 2000, which tracks the performance of small-cap companies. The Russell 2000 entered correction territory on Friday after dipping 2
Lowering speed limits among contingency plans to curb UK oil demand
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Sacked from his “dream job” at software giant Atlassian, Rubio* wants just one thing – closure.“We were probably exceeding expectations and there’s no explanation from the company as a whole as to why any of this happened,” he says.“The only desire that I have, outside of receiving my severance package, is closure as to why I was selected.”On Thursday morning last week, Atlassian laid off 1,600 workers – about 10% of its total workforce. Nearly 500 Australian staff were among them
Jack Draper blown away in straight sets by US star Reilly Opelka at Miami Open
Jack Draper suffered a tough defeat in his opening match at the Miami Open as he could do little to neutralise a dominant serving performance from Reilly Opelka, who fired down 25 aces in two sets en route to a 7-6(3), 7-6(0) win.The defeat is a difficult setback for Draper, the 25th seed, as he continues to navigate the early stages of his return to competition from a bone bruise injury that forced him off the tour for seven months. Miami is just the third ATP tournament of his comeback.While some big servers view the phrase as a pejorative, undermining the other qualities in his game, the 6ft11in Opelka proudly describes himself as a servebot. This performance was a demonstration of his destructive serving and his ability to completely take his racket out of the hands of his opponents
USA’s Jordan Anthony wins 60m world gold after his blood clot ‘the size of a soccer ball’
On a night of dizzying speed and freakish drama, track and field found itself a new sprint sensation. It came in the form of Jordan Anthony, a 21-year-old American with one heck of a story, along with the first global gold medal around his neck.“The devil is always going to try, but I will never let him stop me from getting a gold medal,” he said after winning one of the great world indoor championships 60m races of all time in 6.41secs, the fourth-fastest time in history.And then it all came gushing out
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