Pensioner David Adams killed his wife as he could not cope with caring for her – and nine months later took his own life. The 78-year-old initially tried to strangle Joan, 79, who suffered with dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease, at their Stoke home in January 2023.
An inquest into their deaths heard he then smothered her after giving her an overdose of sleeping tablets and cut her wrists, as well as his own. He left a suicide note to their three children which read, ‘Sorry to do this. I can’t let your mother suffer. I love you all. I am happy to go with her. All my love.’
He was arrested after Joan died but was bailed after a meeting between senior investigating officers and healthcare professionals found he was not mentally ill, he had a family and there was no previous history of self-harm. Detectives submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service on September 1, 2023. But just 11 days later David took his own life by taking an overdose of paracetamol, other medication and alcohol.
At the inquest held at Stoke Civic Centre yesterday (January 6), Detective Inspector Adrian Webb, senior investigating officer, said police were called to the death of Joan at her home in Steeple Way, Stoke, at 1.54pm on January 9, 2023. The death was suspicious and a murder investigation was launched.
DI Webb said: “David and Joan had three children and all the family members described them as a lovely couple. David was her carer.”
Joan had been briefly cared for at Trentham House Nursing Home in 2022 but returned home and was visited four times a day by carers. But that stopped on November 20, 2022 at David’s request. He then provided her care with the help of family members.
Joan was pronounced dead by paramedics at 1.52pm. DI Webb said: “David said he had drunk two or three glasses of rum while thinking about it. He gave her 10 to 12 tablets. He tried to strangle her but he found it too difficult.
“He used either a pillow or incontinence pad to cover her nose and mouth until she stopped breathing.”
The inquest heard David contacted his son and told him he had ‘done his mum in’. A family member tried to resuscitate Joan by performing CPR but David said, ‘It is too late’.
Paramedics arrived. David said, ‘I have killed her’. He was asked to repeat it and he did. DI Webb: “He also said he had strangled her. He said he used a pillow. He said he could not cope with how she was. He had two superficial cuts to his left wrist. He told the paramedic he wanted to end his own life.”
An ambulance technician said: “David said, ‘I won’t let her suffer any more’. David said he had given her sleeping tablets and pinched her nose and covered her mouth. He was asked why and he said, ‘To stop her breathing’.
“He said he was struggling to cope. He continued to say he loved her and could not bear to see her struggle and suffer like this.”
On the way to custody David said, ‘I could not deal with the suffering any more. She has been diagnosed. No-one gives a s***’. In custody he added: “I have smothered her.”
A pathologist gave Joan’s cause of death as 1a, combined effects of compression of the neck, smothering and sleeping tablet toxicity.
DI Webb added: “David intended to kill his wife. It was wholly motivated by compassion, a so-called mercy killing.”
David was released on bail after his mental health was assessed. Paramedics were called to his house on September 12, 2023 after a family member returned from work to find him in the bathroom slumped in a camping chair. He had taken an overdose of alcohol, paracetamol and other medication.
He was taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital but could not be resuscitated and was pronounced dead the next day. A pathologist gave his cause of death as 1a, multiple organ failure caused by 1b, an intentional overdose.
Area Coroner for Staffordshire, Emma Serrano said: “Joan and David lived together. They had a loving relationship. Joan began to suffer with a form of dementia. This got progressively worse in the lead up to the day she passed away. She was taken into a care setting for a period of time.
“It was felt she should stay in that care setting but her husband, David, wanted her home with him and wanted to care for her. Nobody for a minute thought he had anything but her best interests at heart. She went home and had four carer calls a day. That was stopped by David who was then dealing with all her care needs as her husband. Those care needs were a lot and there were many.”
Miss Serrano concluded Joan’s death was an unlawful killing. She said: “David decided he could not cope with what was happening.” She added that David meant to take his life and concluded his death was a suicide.
Get all the latest news from court here