Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Police probe sudden death of Westhill schoolboy

The incident happened at a property on Keirhill Avenue. Image: DC Thomson
The incident happened at a property on Keirhill Avenue. Image: DC Thomson

Police are investigating the sudden death of a 16-year-old boy.

Officers were called to a property in Keirhill Avenue, Westhill at about 10am on New Year’s Day following concern for the teen.

He was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, but pronounced dead a short while later.

His family were too upset to talk at their home today.

Police are treating the tragedy as unexplained. There are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances.

A police spokesman said: “We were made aware of concern for a 16-year-old male at a property on Keirhill Avenue in Westhill around 10am on Sunday, January 1.

“He was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary but pronounced dead a short time later.

“A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.”

‘Such a shock’

Neighbours in the quiet street described seeing multiple police cars and ambulances outside the house on Sunday morning.

One said the family were known in the area and were “great people”, but did not want to comment further on what he had heard was a tragic “misadventure”.

Obinna Ugoala, 49, who lives nearby, said: “It was such a shock, I never thought something like this would happen in a thousand years.

“My thoughts are with the family at this time.”

Community offers condolences

Local councillor Fatima Joji also extended her sympathies to the boy’s loved ones.

She told The P&J: “I deeply and sincerely share my condolences and my heartfelt wishes go to all the friends and family. I can’t imagine what it feels like to lose someone so close and a child that young as well, at the start of the New Year.”

As news of the tragedy spread online, many people said their thoughts were with the family.

Karen Burnett wrote: “Thinking of his mum, dad & sisters, so sad.”

Louise Marie Hamill posted: “My sincere condolences to his parents. As a mother myself, I can’t fathom what his family are going through.”

And Cakky Borrie wrote: “Absolute heartbreaking for this family and friends.”


  • We reported yesterday that it was understood the death of a teenager in Westhill came after he became ill from inhaling “laughing gas”. While police investigations continue, we have since been made aware that there is no evidence at this stage that he had used the substance that night. We are happy to clarify the matter and apologise for any distress or confusion caused. 

Conversation