Wife’s loving tribute to ‘her best friend’ who committed suicide

Ashley Dennis Holmes, who was 38, died from colchicine toxicity - caused by an overdose of colchicine, a medicine used to treat gout.

An inquest into Mr Holmes’ death was held at Edes House, Chichester, on Friday (October 3).

A heating and plumbing engineer, of Whitelea Road, Wick, Mr Holmes died on February 18.

Recording a verdict of suicide, coroner Penelope Schofield said he had taken an excessive number of tablets.

“He regularly took more than the prescribed amount of medication. He had been in discomfort for some time. His wife contacted NHS direct and somebody said ‘20 tablets’ and indicated it was a suicide attempt. It seems there was poor communication with the handover between the ambulance service and the triage team and it was some time before Ashley was seen by the doctor.

“But it would not have made much difference. The damage had been done the moment Ashley took the tablets.

“The doctor recalls Ashley said the taking of the tablets was with the intention of taking his own life. But he had agreed to see the mental health team.”

But Mr Holmes’ widow cast doubt on the verdict.

Melanie Holmes said she did not believe Ashley intended to take his own life.

“I have never been led to believe that for any reason,” she said.

Mrs Holmes said her husband was the ‘nicest person in the world’. “He would do anything for anyone,” she added.

The pair married in 2009, and had been friends since school.

“Ashley was not only my husband, but my best friend. He was family-orientated, and always provided for his family.

“He lived for me and the family and I believe this was a tragic accident. He would never leave his children.”

Ashley suffered with gout, and was born with an uneven spine. His wife said he self-medicated to cope with the pain.

However, she said his pain had increased in the months before his death.

Mr Holmes took prescribed pain relief and his wife said he did not always look at the labels, but would take tablets dependent on the discomfort he was in. She said he was not addicted to any medication.

On February 16, Mr Holmes had driven friends to the airport for their honeymoon.

Returning home, he took 20 colchicine tablets. Around four hours later, he complained he was feeling unwell and a call was made to the NHS direct line, before an ambulance picked him up to take him to Worthing Hospital.

“He walked out, and gave me a kiss,” added Mrs Holmes.

The inquest heard Mr Holmes was admitted to A&E at 11.15pm, and was assessed by a doctor around 2.30am.

Dr Yunus, from the A&E department at Worthing Hospital, treated Mr Holmes.

He said Mr Holmes had taken ‘ten times the regular amount of medication’.

“He told me that he had some moments of family conflict he couldn’t cope with,” he added. “I am sorry we lost him.”