Man found dead at old factory site had spoken of anxiety
WIFE RAISED ALARM WHEN HE FAILED TO ANSWER PHONE WHILE ISOLATING
ABUSINESSMAN who was found dead on the site of a former Gwynedd factory had been growing increasingly anxious about building work at his home, an inquest heard.
Simon Lee Thwaite was discovered at the former Ferodo factory site near Caernarfon on December 12.
An inquest into his death, held at Caernarfon last Tuesday, heard how the 45-year-old’s wife, Non Thwaite, became concerned when she couldn’t get hold of her husband on his mobile phone or landline, despite the fact he was meant to be at home self-isolating with coronavirus.
A statement from Mrs Thwaite, which was read out by Sarah Riley, assistant coroner for North West Wales, at the hearing, told how when she returned to their home in Bron y Garth, Caernarfon, she found letters written by her husband, who ran a business selling vinyl records and had previously suffered from depression.
One indicated an intention to take his own life and that he would be at the old Ferodo plant.
She alerted North Wales Police and PC Liam Carr and a colleague searched the site off Bangor Road.
They found a fence had been damaged on a footpath and made their way to a disused warehouse at the rear of the site.
There, they found Mr Thwaite, dressed in a blue jacket and blue cargo trousers, on the floor with wounds to several areas of his body.
Police officers said he was “unresponsive” and agreed CPR would not have been successful. Paramedics were called and he was declared dead at the scene.
Simon’s GP, Dr Gwilym Evans, said he had held a consultation with Mr Thwaite who said his anxiety had worsened due to building work at home.
He asked his patient if he had had any intention to harm himself and said Mr Thwaite told him: “I’m not that way at all.”
The GP was “shocked and surprised” on being told he had died.
A consultant histopathologist found in a postmortem examination that the cause of death was “multiple cut wounds”. The assistant coroner said: “I am satisfied that Simon died as a result of his own actions. My conclusion is one of suicide.”
In her statement, Mrs Thwaite said her husband “was loved by his family and friends”.
She added: “His love for us will live in our hearts forever.”