A couple that did not want to live without each other jumped off a cliff to end their lives after one of them was diagnosed with bone cancer. David, 80, and Susan Jeffcock, 74, climbed 199 steps up to the historic Whitby Abbey landmark in North Yorkshire, England, held hands and leapt 180 feet to their deaths.
The authorities received the news of their suicide after a member of the public stated that they had seen a man and woman on the rocks. Senior North Yorkshire Coroner Jon confirmed the provisional cause of their deaths was recorded as "multi-trauma".
According to a report in BirminghamLive, David was locked in a draining battle with bone cancer and could no longer withstand the pain it caused. The couple left a note at their flat for the solicitor to find, where David apologised for any shock that their deaths might cause.
"Susan wants to come with me," David wrote in the letter, with the family confirming that Susan was completely devoted to her husband of 52 years.
The couple did not have any children, so Susan cared for David but watched helplessly as his condition deteriorated.
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'It was their decision...'
David's nephew, Kevin Shepherd, 66, believes that the couple may have been planning the suicide for some time. Kevin added that his uncle, a retired taxi and bus driver, was a jovial and social man, but the illness had taken a toll on him.
"It is extremely sad to think of them in that position, where they both wanted to take their own lives and to go together. But a friend of mine reminded me that they had made up their own minds and they did what they wanted to do, which brings some comfort; it was their own decision," said Kevin.
David met Susan in Sheffield around 1970 after she moved to the city from her native Hemsworth, West Yorks. As per Susan's cousin, Margaret Atherton, the couple fell for each other quickly.
Following David's retirement, they moved from Sheffield to the coast, a change they both loved. Their initial coastal home was in Skegness, but around ten years ago, they found a permanent home in Whitby when a holiday apartment they enjoyed became available for rent.
