Quality | 2009.09.11
Beachy Head couple were devoted to son
British man and Tokyo-born wife were grief-stricken after child\'s death days earlier
The parents of a paralysed five-year-old boy jumped to their deaths from Beachy Head in an "act too shocking to contemplate" following his death, an inquest heard today.
Neil Puttick, 34, and his Tokyo-born wife Kazumi, 44, were found on 1 June at the well-known suicide spot near Eastbourne, East Sussex, following the death of their son, Samuel, on 29 May.
The parents, who lived at Wishing Well Farm near Westbury, Wiltshire, "devoted their lives" to caring for Sam after a car accident in 2005 left him wheelchair-bound with a severe spinal injury.
Following months in intensive care, Sam was allowed out of hospital and his parents dedicated their time to ensuring he had the best quality support.
Sally Moore, a friend, said that "anyone who saw them [was] moved by their fortitude," an inquest at Uckfield Civic Centre heard. The couple had "never bemoaned their lot" but pressed for everything that was best for Sam, she added.
Moore – a solicitor who acted in their compensation fight after Sam\'s accident – said in a statement: "After his death, it would seem that for his adoring parents they took their lives in an act too shocking to contemplate."
Sam\'s life depended on round-the-clock care from his parents along with a team of carers. The family moved from their home to a much larger property in Westbury in order to accommodate his equipment.
"Sam would be seen whizzing around the house and garden in his wheelchair," said Moore.
The cause of death given for both Mr and Mrs Puttick was multiple injuries. No alcohol or drugs were detected in Mrs Puttick\'s system. Toxicology tests could not be performed on her husband.
Sam was admitted to the Bristol Royal Hospital for Sick Children with pneumococcal meningitis on 27 May.
Consultant paediatrician Alexander Henderson described how Mr and Mrs Puttick had been allowed to take Sam home to die peacefully after it became apparent he had no chance of survival.
He said this was a "compassionate act" and that, even in hindsight, there were no concerns that his parents would take their own lives.
Professor Henderson said an ambulance took Sam and his parents home in what he described as "peaceful and dignified" moments. He described Mr Puttick\'s reaction as "appropriate disbelief".
"His words to me were, \'It\'s as if someone is trying to break up our happy family\' and \'Why is this happening to Sam?\'"
Prof Henderson said the couple thanked him for helping to arrange Sam\'s discharge to die at home. "[Their behaviour] seemed nothing more than appropriate in the circumstances."
After Sam\'s death the Putticks drove to Beachy Head in their Volkswagen people carrier and jumped from the 160m-high cliffs. All three bodies were recovered on 1 June.
Coroner\'s officer Ali Warner said Sam was in clean clothes, wrapped in a small duvet inside a large rucksack.
Recording verdicts of suicide for both parents, coroner Alan Craze said their actions were "entirely understandable" given their intense care for their son.
"Like everyone else, I\'m profoundly saddened by the tragic history of this extraordinary and heroic family," he said. "I have the greatest admiration for all that Neil and Kazumi did for their son. He was their life and his sudden and cruel death after all he had gone through devastated his parents.
"I have no means of knowing whether they had made plans to join him in death before his last illness or whether they were driven to that decision by their grief after he died. But, either way, their intense care and Sam\'s total dependency makes it entirely understandable that Neil and Kazumi Puttick took the decision that they did."
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/11/beachy-head-suicide-couple
