Distinguished Royal Navy veteran from Tiptoe left video detailing how he intended to take his own life after being struck down with a brain tumour

A DISTINGUISHED Royal Navy veteran who took his own life left a video detailing how he intended to do it using equipment he had bought online.

In the video, which was played during an inquest at Winchester Coroners’ Court, David Kelly (63) can be seen sitting in a chair at his home in Tiptoe addressing the camera calmly as he says: “My name is David Kelly and I’ve decided to take my own life. I’ve researched a few different methods I’ve seen talked about by people on a forum.”

Mr Kelly then went on to explain how he hoped his death would look “natural” but if it did not, he had left the video recording as a record of what he had intended to do.

His widow Ailie told the inquest how her husband, who had evacuated casualties during the Falklands War and also seen service in Northern Ireland, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour after being taken ill at the end of June last year.

She said that after the diagnosis her “highly intelligent” husband had researched his condition and realised the poor prognosis.

Mrs Kelly, who was accompanied by one of her two sons at the inquest along with Mr Kelly’s brother, said: “He read all the academic papers in the world. His doctor said it was unusual for someone to have such an understanding of his illness and prognosis – he was in awe of him, really.

“The rest of us were optimistic but he wasn’t, he knew the reality of it.”

Mrs Kelly said her husband, who also flew helicopters for the police and British Airways, had “completely arranged” his financial affairs before his death, having sold many of his belongings on eBay.

She said he had spoken about taking his own life but added that his family “did not play any part in it”, saying: “I actively discouraged it.”

She said she had tried to get him to consider other options like going into a hospice, but “he had made his mind up having looked into it”.

The inquest heard how, by September, Mr Kelly, who was autistic, had started to lose sensation down his right side and was “deteriorating”.

She said he had told her that on 14th January he was “going to do something now” and “asked us all to leave”. But, the inquest heard, he was missing some equipment and could not complete the task that day.

The next day Mrs Kelly said Mr Kelly had again asked his family to leave the home, saying that they “went through our goodbyes – we were all in a state of shock”.

Mr Kelly told his wife he would text her what time to come home. When she did return home, she found her husband sitting in an armchair looking as if “he was asleep”.

A post-mortem found he had died as a result of nitrogen asphyxiation.

Addressing his family, coroner Jason Pegg said Mr Kelly was someone who would not want to be a “burden” on his family and would “prioritise quality of life over length of life”.

He said that Mr Kelly was a “very accomplished and proud man”, adding that having researched his condition he “knew that the brain tumour was going to be unsurvivable and would result in his condition deteriorating”.

Mr Pegg said he was satisfied the deceased had “planned and arranged” his death, saying that on the video “David details his plan to take his own life and clearly intended to do so”.

Ruling Mr Kelly’s death a suicide, Mr Pegg said his autism may have led him to look at the world “in black and white”.

The Samaritans can be contacted by calling 116 123 or visiting www.samaritans.org