Identical twins killed themselves at the same time
NOTES FOUND IN POCKETS AND ALSO IN THE FLAT THEY SHARED
IDENTICAL twin brothers were found hanged from the same tree in a park in a tragic suicide pact, an inquest heard.
The bodies of Neil and Paul Micklewright were found by a dog walker in Davyhulme Park, in Urmston, at about 8.40am on Tuesday, July 31, last year.
Notes found in their pocket of both brothers were described as ‘essentially identical’ by assistant coroner Jason Wells.
The Stockport coroners court inquest heard the 52-year-old twins, who were described as ‘gentle, kind and generous,’ had lived together in Urmston their entire lives, first with their parents, Ron, who died in 1990, and Joan, who died in 2014, before moving into their own flat.
Sister Julie Gillaspy described the Manchester City fans as ‘introverted’ and said they ‘relied on each other most of the time.’
“They were very close, sometimes to the exclusion of others,” she added.
The inquest heard that in the months before their deaths, the brothers had suffered financial troubles.
Neil and Paul, on-off warehouse workers who survived through occasional agency shifts, had their benefits stopped after receiving a £40,000 inheritance following the death of their mum. At the time of their death, they had just a few pounds left in their bank accounts.
Mrs Gillaspy said she had ‘struggled to understand why this had happened,’ but believed the brothers were ‘too proud’ to go back on benefits and that their money worries may have played a part in their decision to take their own lives.
She added: “I think they struggled socially and I think it all just got on top of them.
“They were very proud people who perhaps weren’t dealt the best hand in life.”
Police coroners officer David Wood told the inquest when officers searched the brothers’ flat they found similar longer notes to those found on the brothers were ‘neatly laid out’ on a table.
Describing the notes, assistant coroner Jason Wells said: “They offer no explanation, simply that they had had enough.”
A post-mortem examination gave both brothers’ cause of death as hanging.
Giving a conclusion of suicide Mr Wells said the deaths ‘appeared to be a well-planned event.’
He added: “All suicides are tragic but the death of two brothers in these circumstances is particularly tragic.”