Karnel Kane Haughton · Prevention of Future Deaths report

On 06/06/2016 I commenced an investigation into the death of Karnel Kane Haughton. The investigation concluded at the end of an inquest on 20th September 2016. The conclusion of the inquest was that Karnel’s death was a result of misadventure.

Karnel passed away at the age of 12 at the Birmingham Heartlands Hospital on the 1st June 2016 at 22:37 having been found unconscious at his home about 90 minutes earlier with a ligature loose around his neck that was attached to a bannister. It is likely that Karnel had been trying to experience the sensation of passing out, or coming close to passing out, and regaining consciousness without realising the extreme risk he was taking.

Following a post mortem the medical cause of death was determined to be:
1(a) LIGATURE STRANGULATION

1. Karnel was likely to have been engaging in an activity known as the ‘choking game’ where pressure is applied to the neck by means of some sort of ligature to induce a sensation of near or actual fainting.
2. Several witnesses gave evidence that on the internet, on sites such as you tube, there are thousands of videos of children and adolescents engaging in the ‘Choking Game’, the ‘Pass out Challenge’ and other activities whereby the children either on their own or with the assistance of others deliberately induce the sensation of fainting or passing out by various means, these videos are openly accessible, uncensored and contain no warnings.
3. Information received by the West Midlands Police indicated that there have been other incidents of children being seriously injured as a result of these sorts of activities across the country.
4. Although local guidance and information for teachers has been issued by Birmingham City Council as a result of Karnel’s death there is no national guidance for schools or youth groups to alert them to these activities, the risks and provide details of warning signs.
5. There is no charity or other institution which provides support and guidance to parents or children specifically on these activities if they have a concern.
6. Leaving the raising of national awareness on this topic solely to the media is dangerous because there is a real risk that if the subject matter is not handled carefully children will be incited to experiment with these sorts of activities.