An inquest has heard how a 28-year-old man was found dead in a secluded forest after being reported missing. The hearing into the death of Joseph Michael Williams took place on Tuesday at Swansea's Guildhall.
Mr Williams went missing after telling his mother he was going for a hike. His family contacted police, who carried out a search and discovered his body at Afan Forest Park near Cymmer in Port Talbot on May 11 this year.
Background and mental health struggles
The inquest heard that Mr Williams was born in Cardiff and attended St John's College and Cardiff High schools. He obtained work placements with marketing companies and went on to study marketing at Reading University.
He struggled with mathematics and only completed his first year of studies before returning home to Canton. His eyesight began to suffer and he started to experience eye floaters, which led to feelings of worry and self-doubt.
His mental health declined as a result. He had several consultations with eye surgeons and a number of eye scans, but never had any operations. He later studied advertising in Watford before moving to London to work in marketing.
Decline and final weeks
His mental health declined in November 2024, and he moved back to his family home in Cardiff. In April 2025, he was prescribed the anti-depressant medication sertraline, and in June he started working with The Wallich, a position he held until January 2026.
In his spare time, he enjoyed exercising and mixed martial arts, and would talk of setting up his own clothing brand when his mental health was in a good place. A fortnight before his death, he met the Crisis team, where he expressed suicidal thoughts. He had also made contact with a private psychologist.
Conclusion
A postmortem report gave the cause of death as asphyxiation. Senior coroner Aled Gruffydd returned a suicide conclusion and offered his condolences to the family.
