An inquest has been told how a former police chief who was retired took his own life after contracting coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic. Jim Webster who was 58 was found dead in a chalet in his garden after self-isolating there to protect his wife and children from infection.
Mr Webster developed symptoms of COVID-19 towards the end of March and after quarantining himself in his chalet, as he had agreed with his wife in the event of either of them contracting coronavirus, he was found dead on the morning of the 1st of April.
Mr Webster had been a commander with the Metropolitan Police. The inquest was told that after developing cough and fever Mr Webster decided to quarantine alone to protect his wife and their grown-up children Max and Robyn.
The family held Zoom meetings and socially distanced meals during Mr Webster’s quarantine period, but they began to notice a deterioration in his mental health. Mrs Webster told the inquest that her husband “changed completely” and became “paranoid and neurotic” during his isolation period.
A six-page note found at Mr Webster’s bedside revealed how he struggled in the last days of his life. On the morning of the 1st of April Maureen Webster took a coffee to the chalet and found a sign pinned to the inside of the door saying, “don’t come in, phone the police”. Mr Webster said: “I knew straight away. I was screaming ‘no, no, no’ because I couldn’t get into the chalet and the door was locked from the inside”. The couple’s son Max then unlocked the chalet and found his father’s body inside.
Mrs Webster said at the inquest: “I believe that Jimbo, in his right mind, would not take his own life. He had spoken so much over the years, given his experiences as a copper, about the devastation left behind when someone commits suicide. It’s just unthinkable that this would be his intention – however, there is no denying the fact. I think it was a perfect storm. The psychological effect of the Covid-19 environment – media, fear, lack of control – as he went into his self-isolation, and possibly the neurological effect of Covid-19 found in a small sample of Covid-19 deaths”.
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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