A “FRIENDLY and chatty” man whose body was found on a Southampton park took his own life.

Daniel James Freemantle, of St Mary’s Road, was found by a litter picker on Southampton Common on December 5 last year.

At an inquest held on May 28, it was heard that the 26-year-old had intended to take his own life by taking a mix of drugs.

The combination of drugs Mr Freemantle had taken had caused drug toxicity, which proved fatal.

He was described by staff at his home as a “friendly and chatty” man.

The court heard that Mr Freemantle had suffered with mental illness for most of his adult life.

Mr Freemantle was a resident at Ravenswood House Hospital, run by Southern Health NHS, for five years after he attempted to rob Christopher Carter’s hardware business in Shirley on November 5, 2013.

Mr Freemantle had entered the store with a blade, but when appearing at court was made subject of an indefinite hospital order as he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

The doctor said that Mr Freemantle had delusions that military organisations and the Government wanted to harm him, and had hallucinations in which he heard voices commanding him to attack people.

Mr Freemantle was a resident at Ravenswood House until August 2019 when a doctor at the hospital decided that he was “suitable for discharge”.

He moved into Natalie House accommodation for people with mental health problems, but the coroner explained during the inquest that Mr Freemantle was “suspicious” of the staff and “struggled with his independence”.

On December 4, 2019, Daniel left the home and did not return before being found dead on December 5.