A disabled man and his carer died in a double tragedy after drowning in an icy canal on one of their favourite walking routes, an inquest was told.
Aaron Ritchie, aged 49, and Ceri John Jenkins, his 60-year-old caregiver, passed away after they were discovered on the Wigan towpath of the Leeds and Liverpool canal in November 2023.
An investigation conducted at Bolton Coroner’s Court revealed that there was a narrow 15-minute time frame between the last sighting of the pair and the moment they were found by people passing by around 2:15 pm on that fateful day.
Due to a lack of evidence, Coroner Timothy Brennand was unable to identify who went into the water first.
Lorraine Jenkins, the spouse of Mr. Jenkins, shed light on what actions her husband might have taken if Mr. Ritchie, who suffered from autism and epilepsy, had been the first to fall into the water.
She said in a statement referenced by the coroner: ‘It would be completely Aaron on his mind.
‘He knew that Aaron could not speak or swim. His focus would have been on him, and not on himself.’
The care worker had previously saved the life of a student who had fallen into a canal when he worked at a high school in Wigan, the jury was told.
Aaron Ritchie, 49, and Ceri John Jenkins, his 60-year-old carer, both died after their bodies were found in the Leeds and Liverpool towpath (pictured) in Wigan in November 2023
‘He was excellent at caring for people,’ Mrs Jenkins continued.
‘Ceri was always giving and caring for other people. He always took the time for others.
‘He was the best and most loving husband I could have.’
Mr Jenkins had been a support worker at Mayfield House, where Mr Ritchie lived, since November 2020. His widow said of his work there: ‘He loved it and felt like he could make a difference.
‘He wanted [the residents] to have fulfilling lives and he went above and beyond. He loved them all and had time for all of them.
‘By getting to know them, he was able to help them.’
Mr Ritchie, who the jury heard had a mental age of 10 or less, was said to have loved picnics and going on walks. The route along the Leeds and Liverpool towpath where he died was one of his favourites.
If Mr Ritchie had fallen into the water first, Ceri John Jenkins (pictured) would have jumped into save him, his widow said
His care needs, however, had to be ‘measured and monitored’. He often walked on tiptoes and would sometimes ‘burst’ into skips and running, the jury heard. The frequency of his seizures – said to be several a day – meant he had one-to-one care.
Following a post-mortem examination, the 49-year-old’s cause of death was given as ‘cold water drowning’.
Pathologist Dr Patrick Waugh said he wasn’t left alone at any time due to his frequent seizures, but whether or not he had experienced a seizure at the time couldn’t be resolved by pathology, he said.
Cold water, Dr Waugh added, on what was a winter’s day, was a factor in the case.
‘I do not know whether he was having a seizure at the time,’ he added.
‘There is always caution exercised around water with people with epilepsy.’
Mr Jenkins’s cause of death was given as drowning.
The walk along the canal was said to be one of Aaron Ritchie’s (pictured) favourites and he is believed to have walked the route thousands of times
Mr Ritchie’s aunt, Jacqueline Darbyshire, said he couldn’t communicate normally and required supported accommodation at the home from 2007.
She said in a statement: ‘He was a loveable rogue. He knew how to get his own way. He loved balls and laces – he used to hang them on the washing line.’
She said he seemed happy and content at Mayfield House, but had ‘no sense of fear’.
‘Aaron enjoyed going out with the staff, going out on walks,’ she added.
‘He particularly liked going for walks down the canal.’
She said there ‘weren’t many’ warning signs that he was about to have a seizure.
Ms Darbyshire said Mr Ritchie had walked the canal route thousands of times. He couldn’t swim but wasn’t ‘attracted’ to open water.
‘If he went in first, slipped or fell, I don’t know,’ she said.
But she added that if Mr Jenkins had gone into the water first, Mr Ritchie wouldn’t have jumped in.
He would have stayed on the towpath, she added. Ms Darbyshire said there had been no previous examples of ‘near misses’ near water involving her nephew.
The inquest continues and is expected to last four days.
