Leo Etherington, 15, was told he could not officially stop change his name at school until he turned 16.

Via The Telegraph:

“The school had told him he had to be 16 to change his name,” Leo’s father Martin Etherington told the inquest. “He said that he was angry with the school. I said we could wait until he was 16 and legally change his name then.”

Leo, though, killed himself in his bedroom at home, when his family believed he was studying for exams.

Mr Etherington said in a statement read to the coroner that he was not initially worried when Leo did not come downstairs for dinner.

“I heard him start playing his ukulele in his room,” he told the inquest. “It then went quiet and I thought he was studying for his exams.”

He said he had rung a bell that the family used to call everyone to dinner.

“I rang the bell and Robert came down, but I didn’t hear Leo,” he told the inquest. “I thought he might have been listening to something on his headphones.

“His bedroom door was locked, which was again not unusual. I thought that perhaps he had fallen asleep. I used a coin to unlock the door and I saw that he was not at his desk.”

Emergency services were called to the house, but Leo could not be saved. He left a suicide note that was found by Detective Constable Andrew Hall.

Mr Etherington added that he had always been accepting of Leo, first when he came out as gay and then after saying he was trans. He said that he had heard a programme about transexuality on the radio.

Mr Etherington said that while it took Leo’s brother some time to come to terms with Leo’s gender identity, no relatives had a problem with it.

He said that he and Leo had attended gender identity sessions and that Leo’s GP had said the NHS would not fund gender re-assignment surgery.

“I told Leo I would fund any surgery when the time came,” said Mr Etherington.

Assistant Coroner Alison McCormick recorded a conclusion of suicide at the inquest in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.

She told the family: “You provided her with all he help and support she could have hoped for. I hope you can draw some comfort from that.”

Note the assistant coroner misgendered Leo. A final fuck-you to someone who deserved better.

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the Trevor Project 1-866-488-7386

(Top photo: Facebook)