A 12 YEAR old boy was found hanging by his school tie from a bunk bed at his home after a row with his younger brother over a toy, Dublin City Coroner's Court heard yesterday.
The boy, from Drimnagh, Dublin, was found by his mother after he had run up to his bedroom following a dispute with his seven year old brother.
The City Coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, recorded an open verdict in the case and accepted the possibility that this was a "stunt that went wrong".
He sent a warning to other young people that tightening a noose around the neck could cause almost instantaneous death as a result of reflex cardiac arrest.
He said: "It is not clear from the evidence what was in his mind. He might have thought his family would find him gasping."
The boy's father told the coroner he did not think he meant to harm himself.
His mother told the inquest that at 8.30 pm. on January 11th, 1996, her son said he did not want his dinner and that he had a headache. She gave him some children's syrup and he went into the sitting room, where an argument broke out with his brother over a toy.
The boy ran upstairs to his bedroom, and after she heard him moving about upstairs "it went quiet". When she went into his room she found him hanging by his school tie from the top bunk bed.
He was taken by ambulance to Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, but died there about two hours later.
Dr Farrell conveyed his deepest sympathies to the boy's family and said he hoped they would be able to come to terms with his tragic death.
"It may be that it was an act of defiance that went wrong a terrible tragedy. Young people must understand that they may not have time in these situations to release themselves, because reflex cardiac arrest, occurs and this may have happened in this case," he said.