A “wonderful dad” sent a heartbreaking text message to his wife moments before taking his own life by walking into the sea, an inquest heard.
A Devon & Cornwall Police helicopter spotted 47-year-old Ben Weir walking along a beach in Exmouth, Devon, and entering the sea in September last year. Coastguard and RNLI crews were scrambled to the area and he was recovered from the water but despite the best efforts of the emergency services, passed away at the scene.
Earlier the same day his wife, Elisabeth Weir, received a text message from her husband in which he claimed his family would be “better off” without him as he claimed he had “failed as a partner”. The message ended with him apologising and saying how much he loved her and their children, PlymouthLive reported.
During proceedings, Mrs Weir criticised the police and said they were ignoring her pleas to find her husband. She learned through workmates her husband had been picked out of the water by the lifeboat and "people were working on him", but police told her nothing. She wrote: "I knew he died. I felt him die, but nobody told me anything." She wrote a police officer on the beach refused to speak to her on the phone and officers at her home similarly would not talk to her. She said she believed her husband’s death was "preventable". Mrs Weir described him as a "kind, gentle and caring man" who "genuinely wanted to help people".
A statement from a police tactical flight officer who explained how the NPAS Exeter helicopter was first at the scene. The officer stated that the helicopter was deployed to the area between Orcombe Point and Sandy Bay as the missing person was thought to know the area well and may be there. He said he was sent a picture of Mr Weir and at 6.25pm saw him walking along the beach towards Exmouth, around 100m east of Orcombe Point.
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He added that zooming in on the helicopter's camera he could see the man's clothes were wet and covered in sand. Just three minutes later he saw the man walk towards and then into the water, fully clothed and continued to walk and then swim away from the shore.
The flight officer immediately called for the RNLI lifeboat and Coastguard to attend the scene as the police helicopter did not have any form of rescue capabilities such as a winch. The officer's statement noted how the man was swimming further and further out with his face down in the water adding he appeared to be "actively trying to drown himself". In conclusion, Ms Longhorn noted Mr Weir had no history of depression or low mood and there had been no noticeable change in his behaviour. However, she also noted the despairing message sent by Mr Weir to his wife, intimating he intended to take his own life.
She said she noted how he had walked into the water, swam out some distance and was seen to repeatedly put his face into the water. She also considered how he may have specifically chosen the location as he knew the area fairly well and "chose that particular location at that particular time because of the difficulty it would present for the emergency services in getting to him should they become aware of his location".
As such she recorded a conclusion of suicide. Ms Longhorn offered her condolences to Mr Weir's family. She added [This was a ] particularly tragic incident and to have lost Ben in this way must have been so incredibly distressing for you all. I cannot imagine how difficult it's been to come to term with Ben's death, particularly as there was absolutely no indication that he was suffering from low mood or poor mental health. Ben was clearly very loved by his family and friends alike and I'm sure is very missed by all who knew him."
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email , visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
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