Khalif Mohammed

I am Louise Hunt, Senior Coroner for Birmingham and Solihull

On 16 January 2025 I commenced an investigation into the death of Khalif MOHAMMED. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest . The conclusion of the inquest was; Suicide

Khalif Mohammed was suffering from severe paranoid schizophrenia which first had been diagnosed in 2017. Khalif’s symptoms included hallucinations, delusional beliefs and negative  symptoms of lack of motivation and isolation. Which he was being treated with medication to reduce his symptoms. His mental health relapsed in August 2024 in which he was readmitted to the hospital and detained under section 3 of the mental health act. On the 5th December 2024 he was transferred to Eden  ward at Highcroft hospital. Where he gradually started to improve. As he improved, Khalif was  granted escorted leave then to unescorted leave only to the local area. Khalif did not express or say he had suicidal thoughts. On the 6th January 2025 Khalif had unescorted leave at 10 am for 30 minutes to the local area from the Eden ward. He returned at 10:30 am to the Eden ward with no issues. In the afternoon on  the 6th January 2025 Khalif had unescorted leave to the local area but failed to return back. Staff  done various checks around the hospital and surrounding areas. Police were then notified at 15:03  who confirmed further checks needed to be done. However Khalif was still missing. Another call  was made to police at 17:32 who then created a missing person’s case which was categorised as a priority case. Police officers made background checks including speaking to his family who said he  would likely be at his flat and attended the ward to obtain further information. On the 7th January  2025 when resources became available police officers went to Khalif’s flat at 10:10 who were let into the flat by accommodation staff. Khalif was found lying on the floor [REDACTED] and was confirmed by paramedic as deceased at 10:26. Following a post mortem, the medical cause of death was determined to be: 1a   Haemopericardium and Haemothorax 1b   Stab wound [REDACTED]

During the course of the inquest the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern. In my  opinion there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken. In the circumstances it is my statutory duty to report to you. The MATTERS OF CONCERN are as follows. –

1. The inquest heard that West Midlands Police had insufficient resources to allocate police officers to deal with Khalif’s case on 06/01/25 which was classed as a priority case with  expected allocation of resources within an hour. As a result, there was a significant delay in officers being allocated to the case. Whilst it could not be shown that this affected the  outcome for Khalif, there is a risk of future deaths if the available resources are not  sufficient to deal with the large numbers of cases received each day and in my view, action  should be taken.

In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the power to take such action.