Oria Henry: Dad left suicide note before killing daughter and himself

A man who killed his two-year-old girl also killed himself by crashing his car into a lorry weeks after breaking up with her mum, a coroner recorded.

Ashley Henry and his daughter, Oria Henry, died on Father’s Day 2023 while returning from Skegness.

Ruling a verdict of unlawful killing, Coroner Jayne Wilkes noted the toddler was already dead before the collision.

An inquest heard Henry left a suicide note of his “intention to end both his own life and that of his daughter”.

Ms Wilkes said there was “no physical evidence of a fatal assault”, nor was there any “natural or toxicological” indications of the toddler’s death, which meant the coroner could not establish how she died.

“On the balance of probabilities her death was the result of an unlawful act, which was carried out at some point before the road traffic collision, and at the time of this act, it was carried out with the intention of ending her life,” she said.

Both father and daughter had spent the weekend in Skegness and the infant was last seen alive at 10:48 BST on 18 June, the inquest heard.

The 36-year-old was driving back to Leicestershire, with his daughter strapped into her child seat in the back of the car, when his vehicle was seen pulling out of “its carriageway directly into the path of an oncoming HGV” on the A153 between Ruskington and Anwick.

“Evaluation of dashcam footage indicates that his steering manoeuvre into the path of the lorry was deliberate, with a straightening of the vehicle’s trajectory once it was in the eastbound lane,” said the coroner.

“There is no evidence of any braking of the car prior to the collision.”

Both father and daughter suffered “serious and significant injuries” and were pronounced dead at the scene.

The inquest at Grimsby Town Hall heard Henry, from Leicester, was “estranged from his partner” and only had access to his daughter at weekends.

“He had a limited medical history but this did include periods of anxiety and depression and he was not taking the break up of the relationship well”, the coroner noted.

“A note recovered from his computer, which was located at his home address, set out clearly his purpose and intention to end both his own life, and that of his daughter, on Father’s Day, June 18, 2023.”

The coroner ruled a verdict of suicide for Henry, adding: “On the balance of probabilities his death was the result of his deliberate act, carried out with the intention of ending his life.”

Posting on social media in January, Oria’s mother, Rachael Leader, said she was still “in complete and utter shock” six months on from her daughter’s death.

“I’ve found myself these past couple of weeks in constant tears… and the reality is I’m never going to see her again… all the milestones for her life have been taken away from me.”

She described the pain of losing her daughter as being “a slow torture”.

She previously paid tribute to her daughter and said Oria had given her “so much light, love and happiness”.

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