Former Wales football manager Gary Speed may have killed himself accidentally, a coroner ruled on Monday.
In a narrative verdict, Cheshire coroner Nicholas Rheinberg gave the cause of death as hanging but said "the evidence does not sufficiently determine whether this was intentional or accidental".
Not sure if it's true or not, but I have always had the impression that life insurances don't pay out on suicides.
Don't even know if Gary Speed had any life cover, but would this verdict mean, if he had any, that they would have to pay out? Does it have to be proven as suicide for them not to pay out?
I didn't say it at the time because it would have been inappropriate, but I was slightly surprised at the extraordinary reaction to Gary Speed's death. It was a kind of tribute fever, and it reminded me of when Princess Diana died. Then there was all that talk of depression when in fact there had been no real evidence of depression, which is a specific mental illness. I also couldn't quite come to terms with treating a man as a hero who'd knowingly made a widow out of his wife and, worse, orphans out of his two young boys. In fact more than a hero - overnight, the footballing community began to revere him almost as a saint.
And yet I was thinking, hang on a minute, here's a man who has destroyed the lives of people who love him, without a thought for anyone but himself. OK, if he'd been completely out of his mind with depression then fair enough, but there has been no evidence of that, then or now, either from those close to him or from mental health professionals. If he'd been that depressed, someone, his doctor for example, would have known about it. The fact that all this seems to have been triggered merely by a row with his wife, and that he didn't leave a note even for his children, doesn't raise him in my estimation I'm afraid.
Of course it doesn't matter what I think, or what football fans think. The only thing that matters is what his family thinks, and I hope they are managing somehow to come to terms with it and that those boys will be able to live with this dreadful tragedy.
As for the verdict, I used to cover Coroner's Court as a reporter, and Coroners hardly ever return a verdict of suicide. It's partly as a courtesy to the family, and partly for insurance purposes.
i would say anyone considering or performing the act of topping themselves would suggest a pretty serious mental health problem. Surely you dont need to be a shrink to see that
Agree with Groomy. Many people with depression are ok around other people, but when they are on their own, they are left with their own mind and it can go to dark places if allowed. Which is why when people are depressed, it is best they are around other people to 1) keep their mind of their bad thoughts and feelings and 2) to laugh and be round more positive environment.
em9999 wrote:i would say anyone considering or performing the act of topping themselves would suggest a pretty serious mental health problem. Surely you dont need to be a shrink to see that
Sorry, disagree. In particular circumstances I wouldn't consider, I would take my own life!
I can assure you I have no serious mental health problem, I just consider others, particularly family.
I dont think it reflects badly on Mrs Bellamy. If Speed was Bellamy's best friend then she was most likely also a good friend, and while she may not feel the grief as badly there will be effects on her also, and seeing someone you love struggling like Craig obviously is (especially if you feel powerless to help) also causes a fair amount of stress on things.
I wish them both all the luck in the world in coming to terms with these difficult emotions.
Groomyd and Crispy are both bang on. No one knows what turmoil Bellamy is facing, & shouldnt cast aspersions on how others are reacting to his feelings..Credit to Bellamy for even coming out , & talking about it.
Perhaps not the right way to put it but just got the feeling she must have been insensitive to how he was feeling for this situation to arise... obviously not knowing the people (and by all accounts Bellamy himself is a very different character to what we see on the pitch) probably wasn't right to comment.
Always hate to hear of couples and families splitting up due to the aftermath of tragic events, it feels like they're cutting off their noses to spite their face and that they should need each other more than ever in these circumstances - guess such situations do change people, permanently in some cases, and might mean they have to move on from who they were previously. Anyway hope they can all move on in whatever way and the children don't suffer too much.
