An Indian-origin anaesthetist who was heartbroken after receiving divorce papers from his wife committed suicide by taking an overdose of a cocktail of drugs in the East Midlands region of England, an inquest into his death concluded. India-born George Eapen had completed his medical studies in Chennai and worked at a Mumbai hospital before moving to the UK in 2001.
The 41-year-old had separated from his general practitioner wife Amy after undergoing counselling to deal with angry outbursts and mood swings that had strained their relationship, ‘Daily Mirror’ reported. George made a number of attempts at reconciliation, with letters and phone calls, clearly he had a great deal of difficulty accepting it (separation),” said Derbyshire Assistant Coroner Peter Nieto.
It was when he received divorce papers in the post in October last year, that Eapen text some friends to say he was going to kill himself. He drove to a secluded area of Derbyshire’s picturesque tourist spot known as Peak District, where he was discovered too late to be resuscitated, Chesterfield Coroners Court was told. Eapen worked as a consultant neuro-anaesthetist at the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and was also a university lecturer.
The inquest heard that he had been hurt when his first marriage ended within a year back in 2007. He met Amy in 2012 and the couple married two years later. The widow sobbed in court as the details of Eapen’s suicide were recounted at the inquest. The couple had separated over his anger management issues, with Amy moving out of their home in the suburb of Totley, Sheffield, last year.
On October 14, when Eapen found the divorce papers from his wife, he went to work and then drove to the spot where he was later found dead. He sent some texts to friends outlining his intentions, leading them to alert the police and form a search party to try and track him down. Paramedics also arrived on the scene but they could not resuscitate the doctor, who was rushed to Chesterfield Royal Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“It was clear George was unhappy, but he hadn’t contacted anyone prior to his actions or close enough to those actions to allow anyone to intervene. It’s my view that he has done what he has done with the intention of committing suicide,” said the coroner, who felt the anaesthetist had the expert knowledge necessary to administer a toxic dose in the most effective way. The combination of the drugs he took caused acute respiratory arrest, leading to his death. The coroner added that there was no proof he had taken the drugs from his hospital workplace earlier in the day, but it was “reasonable” to assume that was the case.
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