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Man waited until wife was asleep to hang himself

25/ 9/2008

A SALE man waited until his wife had gone to bed before leaving the house to hang himself from a bridge over Chorlton Waterpark, an inquest heard.

John Clark, 40, of Newlyn Drive, Brooklands, left two notes in a rucksack found near his body in March last year. Manchester Coroner Nigel Meadows said they indicated Mr Clark was "more troubled" than he had outwardly appeared.

Mr Clark had been due to see a psychiatrist and his wife, Bernadette McCrossan, was shown a letter his GP had written to the psychiatrist. She told the coroner it contained issues her husband had not discussed with her, and said he was "always concerned about the way he looked".

At the hearing on Tuesday, September 16 Mrs McCrossan, a teacher, said her husband of five years had had a history of depression he kept secret from his
parents and brothers.

After being made redundant last year, he started having anxiety attacks and went to see his doctor.

Mrs McCrossan said she hadn't noticed anything unusual about her husband's behaviour on the night before his death. "We enjoyed a very happy and loving life together and John was a very talented musician," she said.

Mr Clark's body was found by two joggers at about 5am on March 18.

The coroner concluded that Mr Clarke had killed himself, saying: "It is clear John was in a much more troubled mental state than anybody realised.

"I am unable to give an answer as to why he wanted to end his life. There were no indications that he was going to harm himself, and his wife and family have nothing to reproach themselves about."