Man who killed wife had suicidal thoughts

A Long Melford man who murdered his wife before killing himself by jumping from a multi-storey car park had previously suffered from suicidal thoughts, an inquest heard.

The 37-year-old man and his estranged 39-year-old wife, – who cannot be named for legal reasons – died on November 13 last year.

An inquest in Ipswich yesterday heard that the man had sought help for depression and anxiety earlier that month and was receiving treatment for his illness.

Paying tribute to him during the inquest, his sister said: “He was a kind, honest, hard working, loving man. He was a sensitive person who so often did things for others. We hope he will be remembered for the man he was, and not for his actions on one day.”

Giving evidence, DCI Eammon Bridger, the senior investigating officer in the case, said the man attended his wife’s home, where he attacked her with a hand axe.

He then drove to the multi-storey car park, in Parkway, Bury St Edmunds, where he jumped from the roof to his death.

DCI Bridger said officers discovered his Land Rover on the car park’s top level, with a bloodied hand axe inside.

Enquiries led them to his wife’s address, where they discovered her body.

DCI Bridger said the man had mentioned to a family member that he thought killing his wife was ‘the only way out’, but he ‘wouldn’t have been able to live with himself’ if he had done it.

Yvonne Blake, assistant Suffolk Coroner, reported a conclusion that the man killed himself and that his wife was unlawfully killed.