A bright boy of 16 who dreamed of going to New York and studying the stock market died after taking ecstasy at a Halloween “rave” in the Welsh countryside, an inquest heard on Friday.
Morgan Miller-Smith, of Conwy, died in hospital after becoming unwell at the event at Gwytherin, near Abergele.
The teenager had studied maths and business studies in sixth form at Aberconwy school and planned to go to university and work in stocks and shares.
He worked part-time in a coffee shop at Conwy.
Mum Deborah Gould said in a statement read at the Ruthin inquest that she had been “completely shocked” when she discovered her son might have taken drugs.
Father, Brian Miller, said :”Morgan’s death came as a huge shock to the family. Morgan’s death has made a huge impact on our lives. We all miss him so much.
“He had his life planned out, dreams of going to New York and studying the stock market.”
Mr Miller said his son was “kind, caring and laid back.”
He added: "He had never shown any interest in taking drugs and gave the impression he was anti-drugs. I never thought I would be in this position. It was always one of those things that happen to other people.
“I never thought in a million years this would happen to Morgan.”
Hollie Profit, one of the organisers of the HP Fest, said they had sold out the 450 tickets and the target audience was aged 16 to 19.
She said: "We didn’t make any money. All the money went into putting on the event. It was to put on and showcase local talent in the area.”
Five DJs were playing to their first audience.
Miss Profit said there were six security guards.
She said: “We gave the instructions everyone was to be searched entering the building. Everyone was patted down and pockets turned inside out and everyone's’ bags searched.
“We had a zero drugs tolerance. We had that written on the event information.”
A youngster had been found with a Kinder egg full of pills and it was decided to call police.
Coroner John Gittins asked her: "Do you think there’s anything more you could have done as an organiser that could have prevented what happened?”
Miss Profit replied: "No, I don’t think there could have been any more.”
Morgan’s brother Alex Miller-Smith said in a statement: "I believe Morgan had purchased two bitcoin ecstasy pills. On the day of the festival Morgan told me he had the tablets.
“Morgan had taken them once before at a previous festival.”
His brother had been “bouncing around” after taking them.
Festival-goer Andrew Davison said half-way through the evening it was obvious Morgan had taken drugs. “He was hot and sweating,” Mr Davison said.
Morgan had cut a pill and swallowed it while walking to the venue.
Aiden McBride, 18, training with the Welsh Guards, said he came across Morgan when he left the festival and tried to help carry him. But Morgan began shaking and was sweating and his heart racing.
An ambulance was called.
Miss Profit added: “It was a fully licensed music event. It was in a barn,”
The inquest continues on Monday.
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