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Convicted criminal Philip Vickery took his own life amid 'remorse and guilt', Winchester Coroners' Court hears




A CONVICTED criminal filled with "remorse and guilt" killed himself and his dog at Keyhaven, an inquest heard.

Philip Vickery (53) – known as Pip – was discovered in New Lane on 23rd November last year next to his dead pet, Nessie, inside the van in which he lived, Winchester Coroner’s Court heard.

Toxicology reports determined the former plumber’s cause of death was carbon monoxide toxicity, coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp said.

The hearing was held at Winchester Coroners' Court
The hearing was held at Winchester Coroners' Court

His sister Sally told the inquest he had spent time in prison because of his criminal past, and that offending caused his life to unravel. It was not revealed what his crimes had been.

"Once out of prison he could not deal with the shame and he would drink and use drugs to try to deal with what he had done," she explained.

"He could not get a job or have a family or friends because he was deemed unsuitable. That loneliness and isolation caused him to reoffend and further time in prison."

His brother-in-law, Alan Bell, said Mr Vickery was one of four siblings who had a tough upbringing in Holbury and effectively went without a father figure through their childhoods.

Mr Vickery suffered from ADHD which was only diagnosed in adulthood. He had two children and had been married but later divorced and did not have any contact with his family, the inquest heard.

Mr Bell added that money inherited by Mr Vickery was spent it on a camper van which he took as far as Scotland to hike mountains with his dog.

"That was when he was truly at his happiest," Mr Bell said, adding Mr Vickery made such a trip in mid-2020 before returning to the local area in October.

Around that time he telephoned Mr Bell about selling his van and a bike. Mr Vickery’s father – with whom he had reconnected and got emotional and financial help from – had gone into a care home.

With hindsight, Mr Vickery may have been "getting things in order" because he was thinking of taking his own life, Mr Bell said.

He added: "I do not think Pip could see any way out. He had no house and was not going to work again and, with his dad in a home, that was Pip’s only lifeline gone.

"He had feelings of guilt for many years; a lot with what he had done in the past. I feel at the end of the day it was all too much."

The inquest heard Mr Vickery had been on medication for anxiety and depression. No note was found at the scene of his death and there were no suspicious circumstances.

Recording a verdict of suicide, Mrs Rhodes-Kemp said Mr Vickery was a man who'd "had a very sad life" that "gradually unravelled", concluding: "Pip intended to take his own life because he saw no hope for himself."

The Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or at www.samaritans.org.



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