Christchurch pensioner Cynthia Lothian posted note on the front door of her home before taking her own life, inquest at Bournemouth hears

A CHRISTCHURCH pensioner posted a warning note on her front door before taking her own life, an inquest has heard.

The handwritten message which read “Warning dead person indoors, inform the police” was found by a member of a community nursing team who then contacted a colleague. After returning to the home of Cynthia Lothian, in Kestrel Drive, Christchurch, they found her dead in bed. A post-mortem revealed the 82-year-old had suffocated.

In a statement read out by coroner Brendan Allen at Bournemouth Coroners’ Court Mrs Lothian’s stepson Colin Lothian revealed that Cynthia, whom he knew as Carolyn, had given no indication to her family that she intended to take her life before she died on 7th August last year.

Describing his stepmother he said she had had a “great life” and having been born in Pontypridd was “very proud of her Welsh heritage”.

Colin said she and his father John had shared a love of “worldwide travel” until his death 10 years earlier. He said his stepmother had always been “very sociable” and “independent”.

He said she had been upset after All Saints Church in Mudeford, where she worshipped, burnt down in 2022, saying she had been “dismayed” by it. Her brother had also passed away in the same year.

But he added that he had had “no prior knowledge of any intention to take her own life” before she was found dead.

The inquest heard how Mrs Lothian had suffered a fall at home on 11th July last year and had spent a few days in hospital where she was described as being an “independent, healthy lady with full cognition”.

After being discharged, health workers who visited her found she was preparing meals for herself and able to get around with the help of her walker.

In a statement, neighbour Nadia Herbath revealed she had been checking on Mrs Lothian regularly after she left hospital. She last visited her on 4th August when she found Mrs Lothian sitting in her lounge.

Mrs Herbath said she had told Mrs Lothian she was going away for a week and “asked her to promise to call” if she needed anything, but the pensioner had assured her she would be alright.

The neighbour said that as she was shown out, Mrs Lothian had told her: “It’s been really nice you coming over.” She said that after Mrs Lothian’s death she realised that the pensioner had “hung around more at the door” as she was leaving.

Three days later, the member of the community nursing team had arrived in the morning to find the note on the front door. She had told a colleague about the note who then joined her, and they entered the property where they found Mrs Lothian lying in a bed downstairs where she had been sleeping with “something white over her head”.

Realising she was already dead, they called the police who found that there were no signs of third-party involvement.

Recording a verdict of suicide, Mr Allen said that the note on the door showed that Mrs Lothian had intended to take her life and ruled her death as a suicide. He extended his condolences to her family.

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