The son of singer Nick Cave had taken the hallucinogen LSD when he fell to his death from a cliff, an inquest has heard.
Arthur Cave, 15, suffered a fatal brain injury after plunging onto the underpass of Ovingdean Gap in Brighton on 14 July. The student was taken to the Royal Sussex County hospital but died that evening.
The inquest heard testimony from a friend of Arthur’s who described how the pair had taken the drug together near Rottingdean windmill on the day he died.
Witnesses described later seeing the 15-year-old staggering on a grassy area around the top of the cliff between Ovingdean and Rottingdean. Minutes later, Arthur fell.
Dr Simi George, who carried out the postmortem at Guys and St Thomas’ hospital trust, said Arthur died of multiple head injuries. “In my opinion, even if there was a trauma team at the bottom of that cliff it would have been very unlikely that he would have survived,” she said. Other medical witnesses assured Arthur’s parents that it was unlikely that he suffered.
The court heard that on the day of Arthur’s death, he and his friend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had decided to try LSD together for the first time. DC Vicky Loft, who read out the friend’s statement, said that the boy had researched LSD use online the night before the incident, but while he read advice about how long the effects could last and that it was unwise to take too many doses, there was little information about the potential negative effects.
Describing the moment the boys took the drug, she went on: “Arthur was also slightly hesitant but said to [his friend] that if they were thinking or worrying [about] bad things before taking the tablets that would have an effect on their trip. They debated for a few minutes about whether to take the tablets then both took them together.”
The boy said he and Arthur shared three tablets and that they were initially in “good spirits and happy”. The friend said he then started having “vivid hallucinations”, including seeing patches of oil on the grass and shapes and colours in the sky.
Loft said: “[The boy] became paranoid and felt like people were staring at him in cars. He couldn’t tell what was real and what was not real.” The boy said he was not sure if he and Arthur walked off together but he recalled that they went their separate ways.
A driver who spotted Arthur staggering close to the cliff edge became worried about him after seeing him slump on to the grass. Veronica Langford, who was with her 11-year-old daughter, parked and tried to check on the boy. She asked a passing jogger for help and the pair began peering over the side. It was the runner who saw Arthur lying at the bottom of the cliff.
Dr Paul Ransom, who treated Arthur at the Royal Sussex County hospital, said it soon became clear there was little that could be done for the boy, who had suffered critical head injuries.
“In Arthur’s case, sadly, and I think mercifully, it was clear that he was not aware of what was going on,” Ransom said. “The point of impact was the point of death.” Ransom declared Arthur dead at 7.08pm.
Summing up, the coroner, Veronica Hamilton-Deeley, accepted that the boys had taken LSD, although no trace of the drug was found in Arthur’s body. She said: “It was taken by lads who were inquiring and experimenting and it’s what kids do all the time, and most of the time … they get away with it, except on sad occasions like this.”
Hamilton-Deeley recorded a verdict of accidental death, adding: “In his own family’s words ... ‘he was a bright, shiny, funny, complex boy and we loved him deeply’.”