English Couple Kill Themselves in 'Suicide Pact' after House Wrecked by Storm
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A married couple made a "suicide pact" and killed themselves in a car explosion just days after their home was flooded by heavy rain, an inquest heard.
The bodies of Paul and Susan Dickinson, both 71, were found inside their car in a garage behind their cottage in Cranberry, Staffordshire.
The vehicle was set alight using a flammable liquid and a lighter or a match when the couple died on August 15, an investigation revealed, Mirror reported.
The flooding of the Dickinson's home, where they had lived for 45 years, was a 'traumatic event', and it was likely that they wouldn't be able to live there again for a significant amount of time, the inquest heard.
Now South Staffordshire coroner Andrew Haigh delivered a double suicide verdict.
Fire service investigator Luke Beckett said: “In this particular case, the likely source of ignition would be a naked flame, either a lighter or a match.
"The fire was ignited from within the vehicle inside the garage at the rear of the cottage.
"The fire then spread to involve the structure of the garage and its contents.
The tragedy occurred three days after the Dickinsons were forced to move out of Cranberry Cottage, near Cotes Heath, due to flooding.
They killed themselves when they returned to the property for the first time.
Haigh said: “Their property was badly flooded by heavy rain and they had to move out.
“On August 15, they returned to the property although it is unlikely they were able to live there again for a considerable amount of time.
“They had hired a vehicle which they parked in front of a skip on the drive of the property. In that vehicle they left notes, including a note signed by both of them which can be described as a suicide note.
“They then entered the garage and got into their own vehicle, which was not working due to the flooding, and set fire to it.
The couple died as a consequence of being exposed to the fire.
Haigh added: “They appear to be willing participants in their deaths and it is described as a suicide pact.”
