A 'well loved' man tragically took his own life just weeks after being unable to visit his dying dad in hospital due to coronavirus rules.
David Curtis had struggled to cope with the death of his father Sean.
The 54-year-old had cared for his 80-year-old dad who passed away from complications associated with dementia last April, Devon Live reports.
The pensioner passed at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital an inquest at Exeter’s County Hall heard today.
David had struggled with money and had also lost his mum five years earlier.
The self-employed plasterer had suffered a loss of income due to the first coronavirus lockdown.
On June 2, 2020, he went to his late father’s home in Whipton to ‘make sure everything was in order’, and was found passed away at the property by family later that day.
In a statement, his fiancée, Dawn Lethbridge, described how they had been together on and off for 18 years, and for the past six years had lived together in Broadclyst.
Prior to then Mr Curtis, a keen darts player and football supporter, had lived with his parents, and had been his dad’s carer.
Referring to his wellbeing, she recalled how he had not suffered previously with his mental health.
She said: “There were times in his life when he had been depressed, but I would not describe that as an enduring problem.”
However, she conceded that he had not taken the death of his father very well, and said: “When Sean died, Dave had not been able to go to hospital to say goodbye due to Covid-19.
“He was troubled by his death and worried about money as Covid-19 had really slowed down work.”
She added that on the day of his death there had been ‘nothing out of the ordinary’ when she last saw him before she headed off to work.
Paying tribute to him, Miss Lethbridge said: “He was a well-loved man with a big heart. He was a very genuine guy and was soft natured.”
Police confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, and that Mr Curtis had left suicide notes for his family at his father’s home.
A statement from Mr Curtis’s GP revealed he had not been seen at the surgery since 2015, and was previously noted to have had two ‘relatively short lived’ episodes of stress and depression.
Recording a conclusion of suicide, coroner Philip Spinney said: “I am satisfied, on the balance of probability, David intended to end his life.”
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