AN ELDERLY couple have taken their own lives in a village near York through a suicide pact.

An inquest heard how the bodies of Peter William Walker, 82, and his wife Hazel Walker, 75, were found in an outbuilding at their cottage in Stillington, between York and Helmsley, on March 28 – a date that was later found circled on their calendar as ‘D-Day.’

Mr Walker had been suffering from leukaemia for ten years and the couple had an agreement to die together if he was in too much pain from the illness, the inquest was told.

The couple had sent a registered letter to their daughter, containing detailed instructions about their affairs, and she had raised her concerns with their GP, who went to their house and found their bodies.

A neighbour said in a statement that the couple had asked him to put out their bins for them, which he had thought ‘odd’ as they weren’t going away on holiday.

Another neighbour and friend said Mr Walker had emailed him on March 26 to say he could not come to his house in the coming week as planned, adding he was sorry about that but without giving any explanation.

He said he had noticed Mr Walker sorting out his shed, getting rid of unwanted items, and sorting out his garden.

Detective Sergeant Barker said that when police visited their property, having been informed that the case was being treated as a suspected double suicide, they found the couple lying on the floor of their garden room, with packs of medication on a side table.

They also found boxes of items which had been labelled for family members and friends.

He said there was no evidence of a third party being involved and there was no suggestion of any attempt by the couple to harm each other, but instead a planned attempt to take their own lives.

“They were aware of what they were doing,” he said.

He said notes had been left indicating the steps to take in relation to their affairs and assets.

The inquest heard that Mr Walker, a retired engineer, and his wife, who had been a shop-owner, had been married for 57 years, having married when he was 25 and she was 19.

Mr Walker had suffered from poor health for some years and retired early.

Coroner Jonathan Leach, concluding that they had both died through suicide, said a post-mortem examination had shown that their cause of both of their deaths was ‘multi drug toxicity,’ through an excess of medication, and alcohol was not detected.

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