‘Strong and generous’ Oxford student died by suicide, inquest hears

An inquest has concluded that an Oxford PhD student died by suicide.

29-year-old Joshua Rowan was found dead at Osney Lane in Oxford on 16th June 2025. Emergency services tried to resuscitate him, but declared him dead at approximately 2am.

The inquest at Oxford Coroner’s Court on 27th October heard Joshua Rowan had experienced “significant emotional distress”, particularly after the end of a long-term relationship.

Joshua, who was known as Josh, had been studying at Oxford Brookes University. He grew up in St Helier in Jersey.

The main Oxford Brookes University campus
(Credit: Pierre Marshall)

His family published a tribute to him in the Oxford Mail in June. They wrote: “Josh was a bright light in our lives who brought joy, laughter and love to all who knew him, and his memory will forever remain in the hearts of his family and friends. He is deeply loved and missed by all of his family and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.” Josh’s family requested people make donations to the mental health charity Mind Jersey in his memory.

Josh played for and was a coach at the Oxford Saints American football club. The head coach, Greg Kennedy, wrote in a social media post: “Josh Rowan was a caring, thoughtful, strong and generous player, leader, teammate, mentor, teacher, coach, scholar and man. He always strove to be better and to make others around him better as well. This is a tragic loss for his family, friends and teammates. We will miss him enormously and our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time.”

If you feel affected by this story, please speak to someone or contact Samaritans on 116 123 at any time. You can contact Anxiety UK on 03444 775 774, Mind on 0300 123 3393, and Calm (Campaign against living miserably, for men aged 15 to 35) on 0800 58 58 58.