Man who suffered acute stress after sister’s death took own life

The brother of a woman who died violently took his own life shortly after her death having developed an adjustment disorder, an inquest has heard.

James Doyle (49), of Pier View, Mount Carmel Road in Wicklow town, developed the disorder after the death of his sister Anne Shortall, who was found dead in a shed outside Killoughter, Co Wicklow on April 7th, 2015.

Mr Doyle’s partner, John McCabe, told the inquest Mr Doyle felt down for a number of weeks after Ms Shortall’s death.

“He’d been suffering from depression since the murder of his sister. His mood was down, he was withdrawn, he didn’t talk much,” Mr McCabe told Dublin Coroner’s Court. “He came in to me and told me he loved me and thanked me and in hindsight it was his way of saying goodbye.”

Mr McCabe recalled hearing a loud bang downstairs and called out to Mr Doyle, who said he had slipped and was fine.

‘Extremely distressed’

He later found Mr Doyle critically ill in the kitchen following an attempt to take his own life. He was rushed to St Vincent’s Hospital but died two days later, on May 27th, 2015.

A postmortem revealed he suffered a devastating brain injury due to a lack of oxygen to the brain. Mr Doyle had a high level of alcohol in his system on arrival at St Vincent’s Hospital.

Medical reports found Mr Doyle had developed a serious adjustment disorder in the wake of his sister’s death and was experiencing acute stress due to the loss.

He spent time in a psychiatric facility in the weeks before his death and was due to follow up with his community health-care team in Wicklow.

"He was obviously extremely distressed over the tragic loss of his sister," coroner Dr Crona Gallagher said, as she returned a verdict of death by suicide. "His suffering has ended but unfortunately yours has not."