Violent video game is now linked to 4 teenage deaths: Coroner investigates Call of Duty after suicide of boy who played it in bedroom



John Pollard has 'great concerns' after game was mentioned at inquests

Spoke at inquest into death of William Menzies, 16, who 'always' played CoD

Another teenager Callum Green, 14, hanged himself after playing war game



The game has an 18 Certificate but the teenagers were all under that age



'In three or four inquests into the deaths of teens, the Call of Duty game seems to be figuring in recent activity before death,' Mr Pollard said

Previously urged parents to stop their children using adult video games

A coroner is investigating the role of the violent video game Call of Duty in the deaths of up to four teenage boys who played it before killing themselves.

John Pollard said that in ‘three or four inquests . . . the Call of Duty game seems to be figuring in recent activity before death’.

He added: ‘It concerns me greatly. It has figured in a number of deaths which I’m investigating.’

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Concerns: Speaking at the inquest into the death of schoolboy William Menzies, left coroner John Pollard said he was worried that Call of Duty had featured in this and other inquests, including that of Callum Green, right



Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (screenshot pictured) depicted a first-person account of a kidnapping and execution, as well as a nuclear bomb attack. But two psychologists claim that video games can have a positive social impact

He was speaking at the inquest of gifted A-level student William Menzies, 16, who suffocated himself in his bedroom, where he frequently played the war-simulation game on an Xbox.

Like other violent games such as Grand Theft Auto, many releases in the Call of Duty series have an 18 certificate but are often played by school-age boys.

Expert: Coroner John Pollard, who presided over the inquests into the deaths of Harold Shipman's victims, says the mention of the game 'concerned him greatly'

In February 2012, Callum Green, 14, was found hanged after playing Call of Duty with his stepfather.



At the time, Mr Pollard urged parents to stop their children playing adult video games, saying the age restriction was for a ‘valid reason’.

The South Manchester coroner said Call of Duty had also been linked to the deaths of two other unnamed teenagers.

William lived with his parents John, 56, and Anne, 52, and older brother Alexander, 19, in the upmarket village of Hale, Greater Manchester, and attended Altrincham Grammar School.

Mr Menzies said: ‘Nothing about him caused concern.



'He was very taken with his studies and he enjoyed playing his Xbox.



'The game he always played was Call of Duty.

‘He was rather self-contained, he didn’t like going out a great deal.



'He didn’t drink or smoke – he was the opposite to that.

‘He had exams coming up, but that wouldn’t cause him any worry as he was a straight-A student.



'He never threatened self-harm to my knowledge.’

Mr Menzies told the inquest that on February 17, during the half-term holidays, he was working at home and gave his son the science fiction novel Never Let Me Go to read.

Discovery: The home of schoolboy Callum Green near Stockport, where he was found after a family row about being 'grounded'

Scary: Call of Duty has an 18 certificate and is one of the gorier video games on the market

CONTROVERSIAL CALL OF DUTY GAME LINKED TO VIOLENCE

Call of Duty allows players to inhabit the role of a blood-thirsty soldier in a variety of grusome scenarios.

Gamers are armed with machine guns, rifles, pistols and grenades and play a fast-paced game of kill or be killed.

Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik claimed he had ‘trained himself’ to kill his 77 victims by playing Call of Duty.

French terrorist Mohammed Merah also played Call Of Duty before killing three soldiers and four civilians – including a rabbi and three children – in Toulouse in March 2012.

The violence in Call of Duty has been criticised by the London Jewish Forum, the British Muslim Forum and Church of England ministers. Call of Duty 3 shows soldiers running through London while bombs explode and buildings crash to the ground.

In one controversial scene a soldier causes a Tube train to derail and explode. Other graphic scenes show aerial attacks on New York and grenades exploding in Paris and Berlin.

When news of the Certificate 18 game's content was revealed it was panned by Mediawatch UK as being in 'incredibly poor taste'.

Call of Duty 2 also caused outrage when it was revealed players could kill 'civilians'. There are currently at least 40million active players across all of the Call of Duty titles.

‘On one occasion I heard William laughing in his bedroom,’ he said.

His wife sounded the alert later that afternoon when she went to check on their son, and the family tried to resuscitate him.

An ambulance came to the family’s home within ten minutes and rushed him to hospital, but he was later pronounced dead.

Mr Menzies said: ‘I would say William is a person who made his own mind up and carried things out, so . . . I would say that there is clear suggestion he intended it.

‘He was happy that day and the last thing I heard him do was laugh, so I could only guess as to why he might have done it, but there is no doubt he intended to take his life.’

William’s brother Alexander said: ‘I remember him saying he had admiration for a philosopher who had decided to kill himself.



'He never said he was going to harm himself. During that day, at lunchtime, the two of us were making lunch together. He seemed cheery and in a good mood.’

Recording a verdict of suicide, Mr Pollard said: ‘I suspect, but I don’t know because I don’t have enough evidence, that William may have been experimenting with something or deliberately intending.

‘There is no doubt it was asphyxia. There was no note or indication he was feeling down or distressed.’

Mr Pollard recorded an open verdict at the inquest into the death of Callum, who was found hanged in his bedroom after being grounded by his mother following a row.

Coroners investigate violent or unnatural deaths, or those with an unknown cause.



In some cases, a death may be referred to police for investigation on behalf of a coroner, or to an independent body such as the Health and Safety Executive.