Love triangle dad of two had £120,000 debts
Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 12:00
AN INQUEST into the death of love triangle dad-of-two Christopher Deakin had to be stopped when relatives demanded further answers from the police.
Divorced Mr Deakin, 39, an unemployed carer who was training to be a psychotherapist, was found dead at his blood-stained home in Minster Drive, Herne Bay, by his ex-wife Mrs Amanda Flynn on Thursday October 1.
The inquest heard he was thousands of pounds in debt and had just broken up with his two girlfriends.
Mrs Flynn had become concerned when her former husband failed to contact one of their two daughters on her birthday.
Pathologist Dr Aminu Abdulkadir said Mr Deakin had taken a drugs overdose but also had cuts, bruises and burn marks on his body in-keeping with a history of self-harm.
The inquest heard that a week before there had been a row at his home with his two girlfriends.
Brunette Juliet Higham was there with a blonde called Caroline. Both were at the inquest at Canterbury on Thursday.
Miss Higham sobbed as she recalled: "It was a confrontation. Both of us had been aware of the other. That was the last time I saw him."
She said he called her at noon on the Saturday begging her to return.
She said: "He called from a pay phone and was panicky. He wanted me to phone him back so we could talk. He was anxious to speak but I was on a mobile and didn't have much money left."
She said she called him back at 6.30pm but there was no reply.
She admitted: "I broke off the relationship. I had the impression he wanted to resume it but it was unlikely I would have gone back to him."
Mr Deakin was found wearing a T-shirt with a swear word on it. Miss Higham admitted it could have referred to her.
She said: "He never spoke to me about self-harm and I'd never seen any burn marks but he had told Caroline he had cut his hand because he was angry at losing her. That was the first time I had heard about his self-harming."
As she gave evidence Mr Deakin's father Howard Deakin demanded: "Why did you take his phone? That was the only way he could make a cry for help?"
Mr Deakin's mother Cathleen explained: "His home phone could only take incoming calls."
And one of his daughter's asked: "There were injuries on his face but we have heard nothing about how they were caused?"
Miss Higham replied: "I was in Bournemouth that weekend and nowhere near him."
Coroner Rebecca Cobb tried to stop the questioning but Mrs Deakin said: "Not having his mobile phone would have put extra pressure on him. He would often talk over his difficulties with us."
But she admitted: "The last time he called he was asking for money and I refused and put the phone down on him.
"He called his father to rave about me and I refused to have any more to do with him."
Choking back the tears she added: "He called back to apologise but I was still irate and didn't return his call.
"I had been preparing paperwork to make him bankrupt. He owed £120,000. He persuaded us to help when his business broke up and put us into financial difficulties.
"We had to completely finance him from February to June because he had problems getting benefits payments."
She said: "We knew something was wrong when he didn't make contact with one of his children on her birthday on September 27. If he could have, he would have got into contact with her."
His ex-wife disputed the police account of how Mr Deakin was found. She had received a call from Mrs Deakin and ran to his home.
She said: "I saw him upstairs and called the police. He had run himself a bath, there was a knife in the bathroom and blood on the counterpane and blood spattered on the lampshade. I expected that to have been mentioned today.
"But there is no mention of that. The police say he was found downstairs between the lounge and the kitchen. Someone must have moved him."
Mr Deakin senior said: "There are many inconsistencies. He had cooked himself some food. And there was a bread knife in the bathroom. It looked as if he had used it to cut up bath-salts tablets for his bath. There does not seem to have been any point in him killing himself."
Coroner Miss Cobb adjourned the inquest to speak to Det Sgt Matthew Lavender.
A new date has yet to be set.
Paramedics had been called to the house on Saturday September 26 when Mr Deakin complained he had been burgled the night before and drugs – mainly pain-killers for a damaged hand – had been stolen.
He wanted a repeat prescription so paramedics called an out-of-hours doctors service.
Nurse Tracey Barrett from Herne Bay's mental health centre Durham House said Mr Deakin had been given anti-depressants after his hand had been cut to the bone. She said he had a history of self-harm and had been sent to East Grinsted Hospital