'Suicide pact' boyfriend jailed
A man has been jailed for 15 months for assisting his girlfriend to take her own life in a failed suicide pact.
Wayne St Clair, 44, of Poole, Dorset, met Christine Needham, 34, through an internet website in June 2007 after she left her husband.
The pair both suffered from depression with Mrs Needham's becoming worse when she lost custody of her two young sons.
St Clair admitted helping his partner take an overdose. He also drunk the "cocktail of drugs" but survived.
Winchester Crown Court heard that on 7 November, 2007, St Clair called the emergency services saying Mrs Needham was unconscious and was not breathing.
He later claimed that on the evening on 1 November, Mrs Needham had given him a hot chocolate to drink and he had passed out, only to awake that morning.
What a great misfortune that you and Christine Needham ever met each other, both of you labouring under depression and psychiatric disadvantage
Judge Guy Boney QC
Carolyn Branford-Wood, prosecuting, told the court St Clair was treated for symptoms of a pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis which were consistent with him having an overdose.
He later admitted he had been involved in a joint suicide pact with Mrs Needham involving prescription medicine he received for depression and morphine pain-killers for an arm injury suffered at work.
St Clair and Mrs Needham had prepared several wills and letters on the computer to members of the family stating their intentions to kill themselves, the court heard.
The defendant had also taken out a loan for £20,000 which he withdrew in cash and placed with a letter stating he wanted the money to go to his son from a previous marriage.
The court heard police investigations revealed St Clair's computer had been used on the evening of 6 November when copies of his will were deleted and a post-mortem examination had revealed Mrs Needham had been dead for several days.
The court heard the pair both suffered from depression and had both made failed suicide attempts in the past.
Sentencing St Clair, Judge Guy Boney QC said: "What a great misfortune that you and Christine Needham ever met each other, both of you labouring under depression and psychiatric disadvantage."
Det Insp Steve Thorpe, of Dorset police, said after the sentence: "It is a tragic case where there are no winners and just losers.
"Our thoughts are with Christine Needham's children who have lost their mother."
