A verdict of misadventure has been recorded by an inquest into the death of the Grand National-winning jockey Liam Treadwell, according to reports. Senior coroner John Ellery said on Wednesday he could not be certain the jockey had intended to take his own life, after hearing Treadwell left no note and took a combination of strong drugs the night before he was found dead at the age of 34 at his Shropshire home last summer.
A serious head injury sustained by Treadwell in a fall at Bangor in 2016 was highlighted by the coroner. “If there is to be one significant turning point, it seems to be that,” Ellery said in relation to an incident that left the jockey unconscious for between two and three minutes and kept him out of the saddle for half a year. Treadwell subsequently suffered depression and his marriage broke up.
On the night of his death last June, Treadwell sent an alarming text to a friend. The Racing Post reported it as saying: “I’ve reached out and spoken to the crisis team this evening. I’ve taken a knock-me-out cocktail tonight. It will either end it for good or shut me down for several hours. I don’t mind which.”
Friends checked on the jockey that night and were reassured to find him lucid. But he was found on his bedroom floor the following morning, having not turned up for work at the stable of Alastair Ralph.
Treadwell died just four months after he was a pall-bearer at the funeral of his friend, the jockey James Banks, who had taken his own life. A statement from Treadwell’s family said he had then struggled to cope with life during the first coronavirus lockdown, that he was not someone who enjoyed being alone for long.
Rest in peace Liam, you may be gone but will never be forgotten for the wonderful, kind, warm, funny and super talented man that you were. Here are just a few of the happy memories you have given us. pic.twitter.com/Cb7c7UCgD4
— Alastair Ralph (@trainingwinners) July 24, 2020
His Aintree success, aboard the 100-1 shot Mon Mome, was one of more than 300 wins in the saddle for Treadwell, who “executed the plan to perfection”, in the words of the horse’s trainer, Venetia Williams. But he never appreciated his own talent as a rider according to his weighing-room colleagues.
A family statement, read out at his funeral last year in the Sussex town of Arundel, concluded: “Liam never wanted to let anyone down. He was surrounded by friends and family who loved him. But his head injury, his cumulative concussions, took a toll on his personal life. Getting a decent night’s sleep, getting the rest he needed, was an issue for him.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
