A father-of-four murdered his wife then hanged himself weeks after an anonymous note revealing his wife was having an affair was pushed through the family home’s front door, an inquest heard today.
Richard Pitkin, 65, stabbed his wife Sarah, 58, in the neck then took his own life at the house they shared in Stowmarket, Suffolk, where they also opened a tea room together.
They had been married for 37 years and had four children together but Mrs Pitkin was having an affair with a local man for several months, the inquest in Ipswich was told.
The couple had ‘grown apart’ and Pitkin’s wife had decided to move out and live with her mother when her infidelity was revealed in the anonymous note delivered weeks before her death.
Pitkin told their son to ‘make himself scarce’ on February 26 this year so they could discuss their finances now they were separated.
But their son returned to find the front door barricaded and called the police who found two bodies in a bedroom and a note.
Today Suffolk’s senior coroner Dr Peter Dean concluded that charity shop deputy manager Mrs Pitkin was killed unlawfully and carpenter Mr Pitkin’s death was suicide.
Richard Pitkin, 65, stabbed his wife Sarah, 58, in the neck then took his own life at the home they shared in Stowmarket, Suffolk, an inquest in Ipswich heard.
Their bodies were found in a bedroom at home in Suffolk (pictured) on February 26 this year after their son found a note on the door, which was barricaded shut, and called police.
Detective Superintendent David Cutler told the inquest: ‘In late January an anonymous note was delivered through the family door alluding to Sarah having an affair with a local male.
‘Following receipt of the note she decided to go and live with her mother.’
He added: ‘In the months leading to her death, Sarah had been in a relationship with this male.’
He said police had no record of previous incidents involving the couple, adding: ‘They appeared to have had a normal loving marriage and the family was a close unit, however there was some suggestion that there were difficulties in the relationship.’
Police were called by the couple’s son and officers found the two bodies in a bedroom, with post-mortem examinations recording that Mrs Pitkin died of multiple stab wounds to the neck and Mr Pitkin died of hanging.
In a statement, the couple’s son said that hours earlier his father had seemed fine and they were ‘laughing and messing around as normal’, then his father said his wife was coming round to discuss finances and he asked his son to ‘make himself scarce’.
Mr Cutler said: ‘There’s some suggestion that Richard was abusive to Sarah during the relationship.
‘It’s not completely consistent in the nature of the accusations, with the different sides of the family having different thoughts about what that relationship may have been like.’
Mrs Pitkin died of multiple stab wounds to the neck and Mr Pitkin died of hanging, the inquest heard
The father-of-four said his wife was coming round to discuss finances and he asked his son to ‘make himself scarce’ when he stabbed her to death
The deaths shocked the small community of Stowmarket, a town east if Ipswich in Suffolk
He said it seemed they had ‘started to grow apart’ and Mrs Pitkin had developed a new group of friends.
‘The arrival of an anonymous letter appears to have been the catalyst for the rapid deterioration of the relationship,’ said Mr Cutler.
He said there was evidence Mr Pitkin had conducted online searches about depression and suicide.
Coroner Dr Dean said: ‘Clearly there were those difficulties and it’s also clear looking at all of the evidence that Mr Pitkin acted in a manner that was not spontaneous.
‘He had thought through his actions before undertaking them.’
He extended his sympathies to the couple’s family who sat in court, adding: ‘It’s difficult to envisage a more tragic situation than this.’