A young fellow in England died of self-inflicted stab wounds while trying to demonstrate a supposedly “stab-proof” vest he was wearing, The Independent is reporting.
Everybody who knew Jordan Easton loved him, say his family and neighbors. Indeed, he was a popular character in the estate (what the British call a public housing project) where he lived. However, his young life ended back on August 23, 2017, just a few days after his 22nd birthday, when he made a series of decisions that ultimately proved fatal.
Teesside assistant coroner Karin Welsh, reporting on the findings of a coroner’s inquest into the young man’s death, says that at the time of his death, Easton was at a friend’s house when he decided to demonstrate the capabilities of a “stab-proof vest” he was wearing.
It’s not clear why Easton was wearing a supposedly “stab-proof” vest. However, as The Independent reported in April, stabbings have been on the increase in England and Wales, with 40,000 knife-related crimes taking place in the previous year alone. As of the time of that writing, there had been 60 murders in London alone, although the newspaper noted that some of those murders were the result of shootings, even though the United Kingdom has strict gun laws.
Jordan Easton’s death was blamed on “the foolishness of youth” https://t.co/sauKYISZya
— The Daily Record (@Daily_Record) June 16, 2018
It is also not clear where Easton had gotten the vest, although a Google search reveals that garments advertised as being “stab-proof” can easily be purchased online, with prices ranging from a couple hundred dollars to well over a thousand.
Regardless of how or why, Detective Superintendent Ted Butcher, from Cleveland Police’s major investigation team, said that on that fateful day, Easton decided to demonstrate the capabilities of his vest. Using a kitchen knife, he stabbed himself in the abdomen and torso several times.
He was taken to a nearby hospital, where at least one of those stab wounds proved fatal.
“Despite the best efforts of the medical professionals, they were unable to save him.”
Although his wounds were most certainly self-inflicted, interviews with friends, family, and neighbors indicate that there was no reason to suspect Easton had deliberately taken his own life. Indeed, Welsh called Easton’s death the result of “foolishness of youth.”
Meanwhile, Easton’s mom, Alison Price reiterated that she doesn’t believe her son deliberately took his own life, either.
“It’s more possible if it was bravado, showing off in front of lads, but where a mother and a young girl were, it’s out of character for him. I can’t absorb it.”
