Tycoon’s wife killed herself after row over addiction to sleeping pills
‘Relationship was volatile’
A MILLIONAIRE’S wife was found hanged at home after arguing with her husband about her addiction to super-strength sleeping pills.
Sharon Halliwell, 48, ordered tablets through the internet containing zopiclone – a Class C drug in Britain unless obtained by prescription.
The mother- of-two died weeks after returning from a month-long holiday, on which she had spoken about suicide and tried to choke herself, an inquest heard.
Mrs Halliwell, of Wigan, had been expecting a referral to a psychiatrist upon her return from the trip to Singapore, Dubai and Malaysia with her husband Darren, 50.
However, because of a mistake by a mental health nurse at the North West Boroughs NHS Trust, the referral was never made. Instead, she was seen by another community mental health team.
Her death came less than two years after Mr Halliwell had allegedly drunkenly assaulted his wife aboard a British Airways flight to Houston in 2015. It was claimed he caused the flight to divert, but no charges were brought after he paid US officials £3,250 bail.
The IT tycoon, who accused his wife of having an affair, later admitted assaulting her after coming home drunk from the pub in September 2015. He was given a three- year restraining order against his wife.
But the pair rekindled their relationship and kept in close contact in the lead up to Mrs Halliwell’s death. The restraining order was discharged by magistrates in May 2016.
In April this year Mrs Halliwell was found by her husband hanged at her home after sending him messages the night before that said ‘ she would be gone by the morning’.
He told the inquest in Bolton that before their relationship hit problems ‘we had the close to perfect family’. But she suffered anxiety and depression which became worse when their daughters left the family home.
Mr Halliwell said: ‘She had issues sleeping but didn’t seek help from her GP and instead bought medication from the internet.
‘She became addicted to the sleeping tablets. We separated around 18 months ago, because of her addiction.’
He admitted their relationship ‘became volatile’.
Mrs Halliwell moved out of the marital home but her addiction continued, he said, to the point where she ‘had therapy to manage the situation’. In June 2016 she was referred to the Wigan and Leigh NHS drug and alcohol team. Six months later, she told them she was no longer relying on the pills and was referred back to her GP. Mr Halliwell said that over the following months she began to display suicidal thoughts and actions, and that on one occasion he had to stop her from trying to kill herself.
The couple booked their holiday but even during the trip she felt suicidal, telling her husband that she was going to take her own life.
He said: ‘ On our return we believed she was going to get an appointment with a psychiatrist.’ He also found she was again buying the sleeping pills. On April 18 his daughter Levi, 26, called asking if he had heard from her mother. They went to her home and found her hanged. Mr Halliwell said his wife should have been sectioned for her own safety. ‘Her problems could have been identified and then potentially her death could have been prevented,’ he said. ‘She was supposed to have a referral to a psychiatrist but that never took place.’ Before her holiday Mrs Halliwell was seen by the mental health team in Wigan and Leigh, and was given an assessment by nurse Joanne Woodcock. Miss Woodcock admitted that it was her mistake that Mrs Halliwell was not referred to a psychiatrist. She said: ‘I didn’t make the refer- ence. It was a genuine error that was explored in an investigation. ‘Mrs Halliwell did not present an immediate risk. She did say that in the past two weeks she had made suicide attempts, but that she was not feeling that way at that moment in time.’ Another nurse from a second mental health team saw Mrs Halliwell on April 3. An appointment was scheduled for April 10 but Mrs Halliwell did not attend saying she was unwell, and so another appointment was fixed for May 8. North West Borough Hospital, said changes had been made since Mrs Halliwell’s death to correct ‘obvious gaps’ in communication. Coroner Jennifer Leeming recorded a verdict of suicide. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or go to www.samaritans.org.