Two days before 18-year-old Ben Cowburn committed suicide in 2010 by drug overdose, he told friends he was feeling “belittled and humiliated” at the hands of a male television comedian.
Now an official judicial inquest has been made into the circumstances behind the death.
The story has all your typical teen grooming red flags — Cowburn was allegedly showered with gifts and fed a steady stream of drugs and booze.
The inquest (which keeps the comic’s name private for now) is looking into it all, including some more unsavory anecdotes — one describing the comedian persuading Cowburn to strip in front of a group of men, and how Mr. Funnyman would creep into Ben’s bed at night for sex.
Ben was set to work as the comic’s stylist, but the two had a falling out and the unnamed comedian refused to answer the teen’s calls, leaving him confused and desperate. Add that to a base of serious depression supported if not fueled by the comic’s actions, and it’s understandable why Ben’s family would seek answers.
We have to wonder how long it’ll take for his name to come out.
h/t: Pink News