message sent to his girlfriend, a coroner heard.
Christopher Forkin, 23, of Waterfoot, Lancashire, swallowed a deadly
amount of the substance after spotting the text on lover Paige
Nuttall's phone.
During a furious row with the 21-year old, he tipped over his sofa and
was pulling doors off their hinges telling her: 'You are just like the
rest of them.'
Miss Nuttall left his flat telling him to 'cool down' but when she
came back, she found him dying on the floor. The 23-year-old was taken
by ambulance to hospital but died later.
The details of what was in the text were not revealed at his inquest.
An inquest was told slaughterman Forkin, whose cage fights are posted
to YouTube, could have taken the substance from a farm he worked at
for several years.
He and Paige had been in a relationship for just one month after they
met on a night out in Rossendale, Lancs.
Tragedy struck in March while the lovers were drinking at his flat in
nearby Waterfoot.
In a statement read out at Burnley coroners court, Miss Nuttall said
father-of-two Forkin – had been 'mad' after reading the text messages
on her phone.
She said: 'I had left my phone lying around and he had seen some
innocent messages from a friend. He tipped the couch over and was
pulling the doors off the hinges.
'He was breaking things and crying but I managed to calm him down. He
said "you are just like the rest of them'. I told Chris that I was
going out for some fags and left him at the house".'
But after she left Forkin drank a 'substantial amount' of the poison
which is used by farmers to kill vermin.
Describing the moment she found Forkin face-down on his stomach when
she returned, she said: 'When I left the house I realised that I had
no money, I went back to the flat to find Chris on the floor and I
said "what have you taken?".
'His fist was clenched and he was shaking and fitting. I put my finger
in his mouth so that he wouldn't swallow his tongue.
'I was hysterical and remember him saying "remember I love you".'
She called paramedics who took Forkin to Royal Blackburn Hospital were
he later died.
Fire crews from the hazardous materials unit in Burnley attended the
scene as a precautionary measure in case the property needed to be
decontaminated.
Farmer Frank Ainsworth, who employed Forkin said his employee would
have known the substance could be fatal but he said he was unaware any
bottles were missing from his store.
Mr Ashworth said: 'Christopher was a polite, trustworthy and reliable
worker. He liked a drink and was quiet when he was sober but not when
he was drunk.
'He knew that the poison was fatal and we had used it on the lambs to
poison foxes.'
Forkin had recently taken up martial arts training at Waterfoot-based
Team Warriors Elite and had been due to take part in a cage fight
event.
Recording an open verdict East Lancashire Coroner Richard Taylor said:
'The evidence doesn't point in one particular direction to say he was
meant to kill himself as drink was involved. My sincere condolences go
out to his family.'
In a family statement Forkin's relatives said: 'Christopher was a
different lad when he had a drink and if he hadn't have had this
argument with his girlfriend over a text message he may not have taken
his own life.'
Head coach of Team Warriors Elite, Declan Williams said at the time of
Forkin's death: 'The whole club is distraught to hear that Chris has
died. He had so much going for him. We can't understand why this has
happened.
'He always had a huge smile on his face whatever the situation. He was
such a nice person and a pleasure to train, a very valuable member of
the team.'
Danny Brelsford who trained with Forkin added: 'I had been training
with Chris during the daytime. He was honestly one of the nicest
people I have ever met.
'He was known for his infectious smile and his positive carefree
attitude. He will be greatly missed.'
Forkin was a former pupil of Fearns Community Sports College,
Rawtenstall and on his Facebook site posted a quote saying: 'Train
hard, fight hard, play harder. Life's too short to wonder "what if" so
live every day to the full.'
Culled from Daily post
