A "bubbly, loveable" 12-year-old Welsh judo champion was found dead in his bedroom, with an inquest hearing there was "no obvious explanation" for his death. Pathologist Dr Stephen Leadbeatter told the inquest: "There's nothing to me that provides an explanation for the death."
Marc Jose Aguilar, 12, had been out swimming and had lunch with his father on Saturday, September 14, 2024, before returning home. He and his brother Morgan Keogh were planning to watch Deadpool and Wolverine, but while he waited for Morgan to finish watching UFC, Marc went up to his bedroom and told his brother to let him know when he was ready to watch the Marvel film.
Less than half an hour after he'd last been seen, his sister went into his bedroom to return some shoes but was unable to get in. She tried to force the door but realised it was hitting her brother who was lying on the floor.
Family's desperate attempts to save him
His mother, Rhian Aguilar, told the inquest at Pontypridd Coroners' Court: "She went up and went to go in the bedroom and shouted: ‘Mum I think there's something wrong with Marc'. She said: ‘He's lying on the floor. I can't get in the room. You need to be quick’."
Marc's family found him lying flat just behind the door and struggled to get into the room. His older brother Mr Keogh managed to squeeze into the room and as soon as he saw his brother shouted: "Marc". He said that as he came through the door he saw his brother lying on the floor.
When Ms Aguilar managed to get in she said his colour had gone and he didn't look like he was breathing. She said she couldn't lift him because he was a dead weight and described his pupils as being fixed and dilated. Ms Aguilar described how they phoned 999 and managed to move Marc's body onto the landing where they commenced CPR.
Following the call to the emergency services, police and paramedics attended their home in Allen Close, St Mellons, Cardiff. In a statement read during the inquest, Ben Seabourne, a critical care practitioner, said despite continued resuscitation there was no evidence of Marc's pulse returning. He was pronounced dead at 5.08pm.
A popular and active young athlete
Ms Aguilar described her son as bubbly, loveable, and very popular. "He was very popular with his friends in sport and in school. Even the older ones he was popular with," she said. His brother Mr Keogh said he was a "wind-up merchant", who was always funny and pushing the boundaries to play a prank.
His family each said they'd noticed nothing unusual or concerning in the days leading up to his death and said he had been preparing for a judo competition he had coming up in Bosnia. At the time of his death, Marc was a year eight pupil at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern in Penylan, Cardiff. He was a competitive judo athlete and swam for Cardiff city.
Ms Aguilar said Marc had started following a TikTok influencer to "build himself up" when he went to Spain with his aunt in August, but said he reassured her it didn’t consist of weight training and instead consisted more of exercises like sit-ups and press-ups. She said he was very competitive and when he got home he carried on with the training and would complete 15 minutes of exercises and a five-minute run around the block each day.
She recalled how he’d described himself as "lucky" during a school exercise the week leading up to his death and said his only concern was about his height. Marc had told his mum he was the smallest in his year and even though he was popular, some boys would say: "All right shorty". She'd reassured him they would ask his consultant about this, which they did.
Ms Aguilar said her son was excited about going to Bosnia to compete in judo at the start of November and was also looking forward to going to Poland on a ski trip in December, and Butlins for his birthday in February.
Phone searches and coroner's conclusion
Following his death, Marc's phone was examined by Geraint Strakis, a detective constable from South Wales Police. During his examination of the 12-year-old's iPhone, DC Strakis said there were no texts, WhatsApp messages, or Snapchat messages which raised any concerns. His last internet search from 1.35pm on the day he died read: "How much protein is too much protein for a child?"
He explained how during September, in the weeks before his death, Marc googled questions about an adrenaline rush six times. He searched: "How do I get adrenaline rush?"; "What causes an adrenaline rush?"; "How do you go through an adrenaline rush?"; "If you go through an adrenaline rush could you go through 100% of your strength?"; "What happens if a human goes through an adrenaline rush?". Before these searches, on August 21, he searched: "Something weird is happening to my body, like it's in speed motion?"
Pathologist Dr Leadbeatter said he hadn't found any significant injury anywhere on Marc's body. "In particular, I didn't find any mark in or on the neck apart from a very small scratch on the left side," he added. Dr Leadbeatter said he found nothing of note during his examination of Marc's organs, no evidence of natural disease, or of an asthma attack, and said there was no defects found in his DNA. He said: "I don't have anything that gives me an obvious explanation for Marc's death. I can't really give you an explanation of how Marc has come to die."
Coroner Gavin Knox recorded Marc's medical cause of death as pressure to the neck but said he did not think Marc had intended to end his own life, recording a conclusion of misadventure. Mr Knox said the overall circumstances showed an action taken by Marc prior to his death had not been an accident. The coroner added: "I therefore have to find that Marc deliberately applied pressure to his neck."
At the time of his death his school said: "It is with great sadness that we announce that one of our pupils passed away suddenly over the weekend. Marc Aguilar of 8 Rhymni 2 was a popular and likeable pupil and a keen sportsman. He had many friends at Bro Edern and he will be missed sorely."
