- Jay Cheshire hanged himself after he was left 'distraught' by false allegations
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The sister of a boy who killed himself aged 17, after being falsely accused of rape, has described how the untrue allegation left him 'a shell of a person'.
Sixth Form student Jay Cheshire, from Southampton, was an 'intelligent' teenager and had dreams of studying history at university once he had finished his A-Levels.
But the 17-year-old was left 'distraught' after finding himself at the centre of a police investigation when a girl accused him of rape in the spring of 2015.
By the time the young woman had dropped the charges two weeks later, Jay had 'spiralled completely', Jay's older sister Camellia told the documentary, I Am Not a Rapist, recently released on Netflix.
'I don't think I've ever really seen a boy bellow and cry and just be as distraught as he was,' she said. 'It was like he'd had his soul ripped away.'
Weeks after the accusations were withdrawn, Jay hung himself from a tree and died in hospital two days later.
'He was found by a dog walker... It was a tree we used to play on when we were younger,' she recalled, adding that Jay had purchased his favourite energy drink and a bag of crisps before hanging himself.
I Am Not A Rapist tells the stories of three young men falsely accused of sexual assault, and the devastating consequences the allegations had on their lives.
Jay Cheshire (pictured with his mother Karin, centre, and sister Camellia, left) took his own life and died on 5 July 2015
Jay was a sixth form student at Bitterne Park School, studying English Literature, Film Studies and Geography and hoped to study history at university.
'Jay was a gentleman from the get-go,' Camellia recalled. 'He was sweet, intelligent and wildly capable of anything.'
The ordeal started one night in the spring of 2015 when Jay returned home 'distraught' after an incident with a girl.
'Jay said they were involved in foreplay, he was laying next to her and he'd gotten on top of her and she just froze,' Camellia explained.
'He sat back and kept asking her again and again: "What's the matter? What's wrong? Have I done something wrong?" And she said that she wanted him to go home.'
Camellia later phoned the girl and put the call on loudspeaker so Jay could listen.
After the young woman said 'hi'. her mother grabbed the phone and said that Jay had been reported to the police for rape.
The woman told Camellia and Jay: 'I'm going to f****** get him done.'
Jay sister's Camellia said her little brother was 'distraught' by the false accusations (both pictured)
Jay's older sister Camellia (pictured) spoke about losing her younger brother in the documentary, I Am Not a Rapist, which was recently released on Netflix
Jay phoned the police himself for more information and was told a complaint had been made against him and he agreed to go to the station for voluntary questioning.
The duty solicitor advised Jay to refrain from answering the police officer's question because, in his mind, the girl's original statement was full of inconsistencies and 'there was nothing there'.
Camellia, who was allowed to accompany her brother because he was a minor, recalled how the police officer came in 'all guns blazing'.
'She didn't hold back. "Did you rape her? Did you force her? Did you penetrate her?".
'The way she was wording the things she was saying, it made Jay want to answer. The more times he said "no comment" when he wanted to answer these questions, the more the tears were streaming.
'I could feel him shaking under my hand. He was treated like a criminal. And I thought, "Look at him, he's a boy".'
Jay was released while investigations continued, but was left 'a shell of a person'.
Two weeks later the family was told the girl had dropped the allegation and that there would be no further action taken against Jay. But the damage had already been done.
Camellia said her brother was left a 'shell' of his former self after he was interviewed by police. He hanged himself on a tree he and Camellia (pictured) used to play on as children
Camellia holds the letter written by Jay before his suicide. It says: 'To the ones I love'
Camellia reads the letter written by Jay 'to Milly and Mum'. Part of the letter reads: 'Mum, you have been the greatest Mum'
She continues: 'By this point, he had spiralled completely. To be branded with something like that, if you haven't done it, it's a big thing. We were all very, very distraught.'
Camellia and her mother were at home when the police came to the door to say Jay had been found.
'We get a knock on the door and my Mum screams up to me upstairs and she says "Jay's hung himself Camellia, we need to get our clothes on and we need to go to hospital",' she recalls.
Jay was found hanging from a tree where he and Camellia played when they were younger. He as discovered by a dog walker who then called the police.
'They managed to revive him and get a heartbeat but he'd sustained so much brain damage that he wasn't there anymore,' she Camellia said. 'He was 17 and he died on the 5 July 2015, two days after he was found.'
Jay wrote a letter a day before his suicide addressed to 'the ones I love', and told his mother: 'Mum, you have been the greatest'.
An inquest at Winchester Coroners Court, Hampshire, heard that Jay struggled to cope with the false accusations and was 'absolutely distraught.'
The court also heard he had a history of low moods, was on anti-depressants and was due to undergo cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT).
He had been seing a psychiatrist since the age of 13 but in March 2015, his state of mind improved, leading to doctors agreeing that CBT was not urgently needed any more.
However, in May, Jay's family contacted them once more saying he was under pressure because of the police investigation.
On 24 June 2015, just over a week before he died, he told psychiatrists at the Orchard Centre in Southampton that the investigation was over and he was expecting to find work.
Central Hampshire senior coroner Grahame Short recorded a verdict of suicide and said Jay had struggled to cope with the false accusations and the investigation.
