In a deeply moving and tragic story, an elderly couple who had been married for nearly 60 years chose to end their lives together after deciding they could not live without one another, a coroner’s inquest has revealed.
John Foulston, 86, and his wife Annabel, 85, were found deceased in their home in Topsham, Exeter, in February 2024. The couple, who married in 1967, shared an inseparable bond throughout their marriage and had no children.
According to evidence presented at the Devon, Plymouth and Torbay Coroner’s Court, family friends discovered their bodies in the living room after being invited over the previous day to sign some documents. Upon entering, they noticed a note pinned to an inner door asking them not to enter the room and to contact the local undertaker.
Investigations later revealed that the couple had left several handwritten notes and audio recordings detailing their intentions. They had also organized their personal and financial affairs meticulously, leaving letters addressed to the coroner and a duty doctor.
Mr. Foulston, a retired biochemical engineer, had suffered a fractured hip the previous year, while Mrs. Foulston, a former podiatrist, battled osteoporosis. According to a close friend, Veronika Clayden, the couple had become increasingly worried about their declining health and what life might look like if one of them passed away first.
“They would not have been able to cope without each other,” Mrs. Clayden said in a written statement. “It was clear that they had been planning this for a long time. They did everything together and made every decision together.”
After their deaths, Mrs. Clayden found an envelope filled with newspaper clippings about assisted dying, suggesting that the couple had been researching the topic for years.
Detective Sergeant Charlie Wilkes, who led the police investigation, confirmed that there was no evidence of any third-party involvement, and that the couple’s actions were carefully planned and carried out privately.
Area coroner Alison Longhorn concluded that both John and Annabel died from asphyxiation and officially recorded their deaths as suicides. However, she acknowledged the couple’s strong desire for a peaceful, dignified end and their frustration with the lack of legal euthanasia options in the UK.
“While I must record the conclusion of suicide,” she said, “I acknowledge their wish that their deaths not be seen as such. Had there been a legally recognised form of assisted dying, they absolutely would have taken that route. I don’t doubt that for a moment.”
Comments
Post a Comment