Budding architect, 32, found hanged after sister killed by dangerous driver
A GRADUATE whose mental health ‘took a dramatic turn for the worse’ after his sister was killed by a dangerous driver was later found hanged, an inquest heard.
Stephen Thurm, 32, had been a gifted architecture student but had suffered with depression and anxiety since adolescence, the hearing was told.
When his sister Helena, 25, was knocked down and killed by an ‘amber gambler’ as she crossed the road in 2016 his condition deteriorated significantly. She also suffered from depression, a coroner was told. When the driver, Glenn Wall, was sentenced, Mr Thurm stood up in court to tell the IT manager how he and his family faced ‘a life sentence of loss and grief’.
He added: ‘Even though you were proven to be at fault it will ultimately be all of our family who pay the much heavier price.’ Six months after her death, the former Altrincham Grammar School pupil took a ‘substantial overdose’ at the Manchester Hilton hotel. Mr Thurm, who studied at Nottingham University, recovered after being placed in an induced coma.
He was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and prescribed anti-depressants.
But his mental health continued to deteriorate, with episodes of ‘manic’ behaviour.
His mother Sandra told the hearing his mental state took a ‘dramatic turn for the worse’ after his sister’s death, saying: ‘He just seemed to lose his zest for life.’
The inquest heard he would often not take his medication in full. Mrs Thurm, a former
‘Seemed to lose his zest for life’
district nurse, said he received ‘tick off the box’ care.
Mr Thurm’s body was found at Dunham Forest Golf Club and Country Club in Altrincham on February 5 last year.
A post-mortem examination report gave his cause of death as hanging. A toxicology report found evidence of prescription medication and traces of cocaine in his system.
In 2018 Wall was jailed for two years for causing death by dangerous driving. He failed to stop as Helena crossed a junction after waiting for the lights to change. The inquest – which is an ‘Article 2’ hearing, meaning it can examine whether any arm of the state breached its duty to protect Mr Thurm’s right to life – continues. ■ For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123.