Young dad found dead in bed just weeks after welcoming second daughter

Rhyddion leaves behind two daughters and his wife to be (Picture: North Wales Live)

Tributes have been paid to a young dad found dead in bed just weeks after the birth of his second child.

Rhyddion Williams, 27, was found by fiancée Chelsea Sterio, 24, who described him as a ‘marvellous’ dad to their two girls.

She revealed he had been dealing with depression and anxiety on and off for years and said his mental state had worsened in the weeks following their youngest daughter’s birth.

Heartbroken Chelsea said she has ‘lost near-enough everything’ as she cannot face the prospect of returning to what had been their family home.

Rhyddion, from Port Talbot, Wales, dealt with addiction and had been taking prescription medication for his ADHD.

The couple’s eldest daughter, Freya-Harper Williams, is three, and their youngest, Florrie-Mae Williams, is just nine weeks old.

Chelsea said: ‘I gave birth eight weeks ago and his mental health was not good. He was calling the doctors and they were just prescribing him more tablets without seeing him.

‘He struggled with depression and anxiety and he went downhill three years ago. But then he was fine compared to what he had been.’

The pair share two daughters (Picture: North Wales Live)

On November 2, Rhyddion was found dead, leaving his fiancee in shock as she is left to raise their two children alone.

Chelsea said: ‘I’ve got my daughter asking where her daddy is. Towards the end he was ringing his mental health service and was just getting prescribed more medication over the phone.

‘They failed him. They should have clicked on that he had an addiction.’

Shortly after he died, Chelsea discovered a work bench in Rhyddion’s shed on which he had written: ‘Mentally, I’m unwell.’

They had just welcomed little Florrie-Mae Williams eight weeks ago (Picture: North Wales Live)

There will be an investigation into Rhyddion’s death with an inquest planned for April 8, 2024.

A spokesman for Swansea Bay University Health Board said: ‘The health board would like to express its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr Williams for their very sad loss.

‘Although we have not received a formal complaint we are reviewing the circumstances in line with our usual procedure.’

Describing Rhyddion, Chelsea said: ‘When I first met him he was just a silly kind of person. We were engaged within three months. He was usually such a bubbly person and he couldn’t do enough for anyone.’

Rhyddion also cared for his mother, and their premature daughter, whom he did tube feeding training for.

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Chelsea has now said she can’t go back into their home and is waiting to be relocated.

‘I’ve lost near-enough everything in my house because I just can’t go back there,’ she said.

Chelsea said she wants more men to speak out when they are not feeling okay, as they feel like they can’t reach out when they need it.

She said: ‘I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what I’ve been through so I want to encourage more men to speak out.

‘He was too ashamed just in case people thought differently of him and then it was too late to speak out in the end.

‘But I want him to be remembered for the stuff he used to do. It was always everybody before him and he was so marvellous with my two girls.’

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