Little Christopher died on July 9, 2019, after being pushed into the River Cynon in Wales (Picture: PA/Wales News Service)
A 13-year-old boy died after being deliberately pushed into a river in south Wales as part of a ‘prank’, a coroner has found.
Christopher Kapessa, described as ‘loving, caring, passionate and very protective’ by his family, drowned after entering the River Cynon in Fernhill.
Four witnesses told an inquest in Pontypridd that another boy, then aged 14, had pushed him from a ledge into the water, after saying words to the effect of ‘shall I push him in’.
Since then, the victim’s family has campaigned for the boy who allegedly pushed him to be charged after the Crown Prosecution Service ruled that it was not in the public interest to do so.
The boy, now aged 19, cannot be named for legal reasons.
He told the inquest that he accidentally fell into Christopher and did not suggest doing so.
The 13-year-old was not a confident swimmer, according to his mother (Picture: Wales News Service)
But delivering his conclusions in the case, assistant coroner David Regan said: ‘In my judgment, Christopher was deliberately pushed into the back from behind by [the boy] using his hands.
‘[The boy’s] actions deprived Christopher of the opportunity to decide whether or not to enter the water.
‘I have no hesitation in finding that Christopher did not consent to being pushed into the river.’
Christopher, who was not a confident swimmer according to his mother, began to panic and shouted for help.
Other children, including the boy who pushed him into the river, jumped in and tried to rescue him but he disappeared below the surface at about 5.30pm.
The coroner said: ‘They acted very courageously in doing so.
(The boy) pushed Christopher into the water in a misplaced sense of fun, namely as a prank.’
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Boys tried to rescue him, but he died.