A 25-year-old Ukrainian refugee who fled to the United Kingdom following Russia’s invasion in 2022 has tragically taken his own life, according to British authorities.
Oleksandr Cherednichenko, who had been living and working in Durham after initially settling in Newcastle, was found dead in his car on December 10, 2024.
An inquest at Crook Coroners’ Court heard that a notebook discovered in his Honda SUV had the word “loneliness” written inside.
The young man’s body was discovered after motorist Karen Turnbull noticed his vehicle had remained unmoved for 24 hours on the B6295 road, prompting her to alert authorities. Emergency services from the North East Ambulance Service and County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service responded to the scene.
In a heartbreaking statement read during the inquest, Cherednichenko’s mother, Olha Sedokova, who attended the proceedings via video link, expressed her shock at the tragedy.
“My son led a healthy lifestyle, and he had planned to live a long life. He was learning English, and wanted British citizenship, and he also liked his job and was happy with his new car,” Sedokova said. “The last communication I had with him was on November 7 at 17.45pm. After that, my subsequent messages were left unread.”
Senior Assistant Coroner for County Durham and Darlington, Jeremy Chipperfield, concluded that Cherednichenko died by suicide. “Between November 8 at 4.56pm and 3.50pm on November 10, 2024, in the rear of his vehicle parked in a layby […] it’s my conclusion that he had planned to, and then he did, take his own life,” the coroner stated.
Friends of Cherednichenko raised over £600 through a GoFundMe campaign to help transport his body back to his homeland of Ukraine to be with his family.
