Father’s death due to money worries
A SCARBOROUGH man killed himself after becoming depressed due to lending his life savings to someone who wasn’t giving it back, an inquest heard.
Jonathan Royston-bailey, 48, was found hanged at his home in Prince of Wales Terrace on January 6, this year.
Speaking at his inquest yesterday psychiatric nurse Laura McCarthy said Mr Royston-bailey had made previous attempts to take his own life.
She told coroner Michael Oakley that Mr Royston-bailey told her the cause of him feeling down was due to lending a friend money which he had intended to use for his son’s eduction.
Ms Mccarthy said: “What he said was he was upset he had lent a so called friend some money, to the figure of £25,000. That was agreed as a short term loan and he was going to get it back, but he hadn’t.
The inquest also heard from Mr Royston-bailey’s ex-wife’s partner Alan Fane.
He told the coroner how his partner’s son was due to meet his father, Mr Royston-bailey, on the day he was found.
He said how the son had arrived at his father’s flat, but was unable to get in or make contact with him, so telephoned me.
Mr Fane said: “Initially I wasn’t concerned, I thought he might have gone to the shops and wasn’t back in time. I told him to wait ten minutes then I would ring him back.”
The inquest heard that after that conversation the boy had been in touch with his mother to say he thought he could see legs through the window.
Mr Fane said: “I left work immediately. I said I would go to the flat and that’s what I did.
“When I got to the flat I looked through the glass in the door and could see shadows, which I thought could have been legs but I wasn’t sure.”
Mr Fane contacted a neighbour and eventually the landlord to try to get access to the flat but eventually had to call the police who forced open the door.
Mr Fane told the coroner he and his partner had not been aware of Mr Royston-bailey’s unhappiness at the time, but learnt later of his troubles after speaking to his neighbour.
Recording a verdict that Mr Royston-bailey killed himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed, Mr Oakley said: “I am satisfied that the manor in which he was found was a deliberate act on his part, and there is evidence he had been treated for depression and anxiety.”