A policewoman committed suicide after writing a text to a lover
thanking him for a 'wonderful' date - but accidentally sent it to her husband,
an inquest heard.
PC Gail Crocker, 46, met a fellow officer while her husband Peter,
49, was away from their home near St Austell, Cornwall, on a business trip in
London.
Later that evening the mother of two typed a message on her mobile
saying: 'Thank you for a wonderful evening. Only wish we could do this more
often'.
But Mrs Crocker sent it to her husband of 30 years by mistake, an
inquest in Truro was told.
He came home and she admitted to having a 'one-off' rendezvous
with a male colleague but insisted it had never happened before.
The couple rowed, and the next day Mrs Crocker called in sick from
work and drove to a lane two-and-a-half miles away from her home in the village
of St Stephen. She took an overdose before climbing into the boot of her
white Audi TT, where she was found dead on 15 June.
Mr Crocker, of St Stephen, Cornwall, told the inquest his wife had
begged him for forgiveness when he got back from his trip.
He said: 'I got out [of the car] and she was in floods of tears
saying she was sorry. She told me it was a one-off and she had never done it
before.
Mr Crocker told the hearing they rowed the following morning,
saying: 'She went on and on again. My work phone rang. I was so angry I slammed
it into the ground.
Mr Crocker found his wife's body in the boot of her white Audi TT
in this car park at Hornick Hill, near St Austell
After going to the supermarket to buy a replacement phone, Mr
Crocker arrived home later that day to find his wife and her car had gone.
Mr Crocker contacted her sergeant at Bodmin Police Station who
told him she had called in sick for her shift that afternoon.
He said: 'I didn't sleep at all. I didn't hear from Gail during
the night.'
The following morning David Rendell and his wife, close friends of
the Crockers, spotted Mrs Crocker's car in the car park at Lanjeth, a nearby
village, and called her husband.
Mrs Crocker's husband, Paul, told the inquest in Truro, pictured,
that he was 'lost' without his wife of 30 years
Mr Crocker discovered his wife's body in the boot next to an empty
bottle of tablets, which the pathologist said caused her death, and suicide
notes written to him and daughters Chloe, 22 and Gemma, 25.
Mrs Crocker, who met her husband in Plymouth when she was 15 and
he was 17, first trained as a PCSO in Truro in 2003 and became a police
constable in 2007.
Mr Crocker added in his statement: 'She was a people person - she
would speak to anyone about anything. Being a PCSO was her perfect job.
'She was my life. We had plans. Nothing was worth her
taking her life. I'm lost without her.'
- Paul Crocker, 49
'She was my life. We had plans. Nothing was worth her taking her
life. I'm lost without her.'
The unnamed colleague with whom Mrs Crocker spent the evening was
not required to give evidence or named at the inquest.
Returning a verdict of suicide, Coroner for Cornwall Emma Carlyon
told the hearing she was satisfied that Mrs Crocker's death resulted from a
deliberate act to take her own life.
At the time of her death colleagues paid tribute to the
'excellent' police officer who was based in Truro and later Bodmin.
Sector inspector Robin Hogg said: 'I have known Gail for several
years and will always remember her as an excellent officer with a bright, happy
and positive disposition.'
'Gail leaves a husband and two daughters who miss her deeply and
are very proud of the role she carried out in the community.'
No comments:
Post a Comment