HEARTBREAKING final messages show Archie Battersbee's "low mood" with police finding "no evidence" he was taking part in a viral challenge, an inquest heard.
The tragic revelation was made just hours after the 12-year-old's mum begged a coroner to investigate TikTok's role in her son's death.
Archie died on August 6 when his life support was withdrawn despite a landmark legal battle to keep him alive.
Mum Hollie Dance had discovered him unconscious at home in Essex on April 7 and believes he was taking part in an online challenge.
But Essex's senior coroner Lincoln Brookes told the hearing today there was "no evidence at this stage to substantiate the concern".
The court was also told a download of Archie's phone showed messages reflecting a "very low mood".
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Detective Inspector Sarah Weeks of Essex Police, reading from a colleague's report, said Hollie had been "concerned there was an online challenge going round and other young people could be at risk".
She explained the mum gave police her consent for them to download information from Archie's phone on June 13.
The officer said there were "no photographs or videos" that suggested the teen was taking part in an online challenge.
DI Weeks added: "There's no evidence of Archie filming any videos on the day of the incident."
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She also told the court despite Archie "regularly" accessing YouTube, most of his searches were for "MMA fighters, boxing or music videos".
Archie had the TikTok app and was "using and accessing" the site on April 7 – the day he collapsed – but there was "no evidence" to suggest he was undertaking the dangerous online trend.
DI Weeks said the phone will undergo further testing as the messages were only received this morning.
Coroner Mr Brooks said: "It's low mood we're looking at here, very low mood."
He added: "There's no evidence at this stage to substantiate the concern, the fear of Ms Dance, about the choking challenge or the blackout challenge, whether on TikTok or frankly on any other platform or provider."
It comes after Hollie said she had caught her son practising the dangerous challenge, which The Sun Online is not naming, in the weeks before his injury.
The mum, who left today's hearing in tears, explained this was a "very new thing" and Archie had never caused her "any alarm" before.
She added: “For him to all of a sudden start that at the age of 12-years-old, he’s seen it somewhere and the only thing I can think of is TikTok.”
Archie's parents launched a mammoth legal battle to keep their son alive as they vowed to fight to the end.
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But they lost their fight at every hurdle, with judges ruling that keeping his life support switched on was not in the youngster's "best interests".
A full inquest has been set for February 7, 2023.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.
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