British mother reveals heartbreak after son, 24, dies alongside UK woman in Vietnam bike crash

A British mother has spoken of her heartbreak after her 24-year-old son died alongside a woman in a motorbike crash in Vietnam.

Debsy Clayton said she is ‘inconsolable’ and ‘unable to function’ after her son Denver Barfield was killed after he and his friend crashed into a power pole whilst riding on a motorbike in the early hours of Monday morning.

Denver, from Leicester, and fellow Briton Beth Thompson, who was studying a Masters degree at the University of Leicester, died on impact following the crash in the Vietnamese city of Hoi An.

Debsy, 50, said she cannot sleep for thinking of the moment that her son was killed in the crash and feels ‘guilty’ for existing because Denver no longer can. 

The mother-of-three told MailOnline: ‘I’m inconsolable. I haven’t slept or eaten. I just can’t function. I feel guilty just existing because he no longer can. 

‘I don’t know anything about how he died. I’m terrified. Did he call my name asking for me? Was he in pain?’

Debsy says that just hours after being told by Leicestershire Police officers that her son had died, she was ‘bombarded’ with messages and graphic photos of the crash – including images of her son laying dead on the road – from a man who claimed to be a coroner in Vietnam. 

The heartbroken mother said that the man, who typed in broken English, sent her a stream of messages saying that she needed to pay £10,100 for her son’s body to be transported back to the UK or risk him being cremated.

Debsy added that the alleged coroner said there would be additional costs including putting her son’s body in a fridge and embalming.

The mother has been unable to confirm whether the man messaging her is indeed a coroner and whether his requests are legitimate but she is terrified they will cremate her son if she does not raise the funds.

Debsy, who describes her son as ‘kind’ and an ‘inspiration’, said: ‘I am living a nightmare not knowing what is happening to my Denver.

‘I’m so angry about how I’ve been treated. The coroner has a lot to answer for you don’t send pictures or demand money like that. It’s so wrong. I’m sitting on tender hooks not knowing what is happening to my baby I want him home.’

Denver’s friend Harri Stavrou has set up a GoFundMe page to help Debsy bring her son’s body back to the UK. 

Hundreds of people have since paid tribute to the 24-year-old, who was about to start a graduate job as a business manager in London after gaining a masters degree in Business and Marketing from Aston University.

‘Denver knows thousands of people. He was so loved. He loved life and was so passionate about having a successful future and being the best version of himself,’ Debsy said.

Denver and Beth were riding a motorbike when they crashed into a power pole at the side of the ride while the Britons were travelling from Hoi An City to Dien Ban Commune. 

The pair were riding one motorbike, said police. No information has been released about who was at the controls of the motorbike, nor whether any other vehicle was involved in the crash.

The tourists were staying at a hotel on Cua Dai Street. Dinh Xuân Nghi, head of the city’s police, said the crash occurred at 3.40am.

Debsy said she had thought the police officers who arrived at her door on Monday morning had made a ‘dreadful’ mistake when they told her that Denver had died in a road traffic accident in Vietnam. 

She said that police officers had to collect her 18-year-old son DJ from college and tell him that his brother had died because she was in ‘pieces’.

‘I was hysterical. It didn’t make sense. I kept telling them they had made a dreadful mistake and they had the wrong person. But they hadn’t,’ she said. 

Just hours after she was told of her son’s death, the man claiming to be a coroner in Vietnam contacted Debsy on WhatsApp.

She explained: ‘He was asking what I want to do with my son’s body. He asked whether I knew about the accident in broken English and when I said yes he sent me graphic photos of Denver laying on the floor. He then said he would send me a bill.’

He told her she would have to pay £10,100 for his body to be transported. When she questioned the cost and told the man claiming to be a coroner that her son had travel insurance, he replied: ‘That takes too long, we can’t keep the body that long. You have to pay the bill and then you claim it back.’

Her daughter Charley, 30, told the British embassy in Vietnam and officials as well as police officers told Debsy to not respond to the man. 

But shortly before 2am on Wednesday morning, the man sent Debsy another stream of messages.

Worried that the ‘coroner’ would cremate her son, she replied and said her son has travel insurance. She explained that her son’s friend Connor, who he travelled to Vietnam with, was trying to get the documents but he had not been given access to the belongings.

Explaining why she replied to the man, Debsy said: ‘The only reason I messaged him was because it was more than 12 hours since I last spoke to them and I was scared they were just going to cremate him.’ 

Debsy said that the coroner has sent more messages with a bill but she has not replied.

The British embassy in Vietnam are in contact with the family about bringing Denver’s body home and getting his personal belongings back. 

The case has been transferred to the province-level police to carry out further investigations.

Debsy, paying tribute to her son, said: ‘He was quirky kind warm and caring and boy could he tell you a story.

‘He was brought up with good morals and manners I made sure of that I nagged him and pushed him to do well and he listened he did it. 

‘He truly was an inspiration for any young person to look up to. I idolised him as I do all my children and my heart hurts.’