Bigamist commits suicide after wife 3 dumps him
A convicted bigamist hanged himself after his third wife threw him out for romancing a possible fourth bride, an inquest heard.
|||London - A convicted bigamist hanged himself after his third wife threw him out for romancing a possible fourth bride, an inquest heard.
Adrian Linham, 44, had previously ended up in prison for his multiple marriages after being caught out by wife number two.
But Linham’s mental health took a downturn when third wife Hayley Totterdell, who had stood by him while he was behind bars, ended their relationship after learning he had started seeing another woman.
Linham’s mother, Anthea, told the inquest her son had suffered from depression and was left ‘broken’ after his first marriage failed.
On Tuesday, the coroner criticised mental health services for ‘failing’ the father, who was not offered an appointment for 28 days when his desperate mother called for help.
Unemployed Linham was jailed for bigamy last year after his second wife, Liz, 37, spotted photographs of his third wedding – at the same Mexican beach resort where they married seven years before.
It emerged Linham been secretly dating Totterdell for three years while telling his wife he was working away as a scuba diver. His second wife reported him, and he was jailed for 18 weeks in February last year.
The inquest heard he had post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosed after being bullied in jail where two brothers hanged themselves in the cell next to him.
He also suffered from depression when his third marriage failed after he started romancing a woman from Cornwall and moved back home with his mother in Bristol.
He left the house in March this year, telling his mother: ‘I love you so much mom. You don’t have to worry about me any more.’
A dog walker later found Linham, who was the youngest of four brothers, hanged in a barn at a remote farm.
Officers found a note written in blood on top of the chest of drawers in his bedroom which read: ‘Sorry.’
The inquest at Flax Bourton Coroner’s Court heard Linham’s depression started when he divorced his first wife and she made it difficult for him to see their two children.
His mother said: ‘He found out his wife had been having an affair and it broke him. A year later he remarried on the rebound. I believe he started going on websites in 2012 where he met a wonderful young woman - they were the perfect couple and we adored them.
‘He was never married to her in this country therefore saw no harm. When the second wife found out it was the beginning of the end.’
She added: ‘He was a broken man when he was released, had no self-esteem and started lying about himself.’
Days before his death, Linham was taken to Dorset County Hospital by the coastguard after worried bystanders saw him leaning over a cliff edge. He had overdosed on a cocktail of over-the-counter tablets and was admitted into intensive care where he told ward staff he had tried to take his own life.
But he was discharged from hospital three days later after a 90-minute interview.
Mental health liaison nurse Andrew Pinder said Linham had told him he had made some mistakes in relationships. But he said Linham had told him the overdose was a ‘cry for help’, adding: ‘At the time I felt he was being open and honest because he engaged so well and was willing to follow the steps we discussed.’
Linham’s worried mother later contacted the mental health helpline and he was assessed – but a routine appointment was set in 28 days’ time.
Recording a verdict of suicide, Assistant Coroner for Avon Dr Peter Harrowing criticised the care offered to Linham.
He said the bigamist should have been seen ‘much sooner’, adding: ‘Mrs Linham was at a loss. She was looking for help and realised her son needed urgent help.
‘Greater cognisance should have been taken of the concerns raised by Mrs Linham. I’m not satisfied that goes as far as a gross failure although I have to say the failure was itself significant.’
Daily Mail