Inquest Rules Whitby Couple's Deaths Suicide Pact

An inquest has concluded that an elderly couple from Whitby, North Yorkshire, died by suicide in a pact prompted by the husband's battle with bone cancer, as they jumped from cliffs near the town's historic abbey on July 30.

David Jeffcock, 80, and his wife Susan, 74, were discovered on the rocks at the base of East Cliff after a member of the public found a mobile phone and a folded jacket weighed down with a brick at the cliff top. The jacket served as a marker indicating preparation for the act, according to Detective Inspector Jenkinson of North Yorkshire Police. Both were pronounced dead at the scene from multiple traumatic injuries, and their bodies were airlifted by Coastguard helicopter.

The couple had relocated to Whitby after retiring, settling in a flat overlooking the harbor in the seaside town they cherished. Originally from Sheffield, they had dreamed of coastal living for years. Mr. Jeffcock, who grew up in Sheffield and spent three years in Australia as a "ten pound pom" under a post-World War II migration scheme, returned to the UK and met Mrs. Jeffcock, whom he described as the love of his life. Married for 52 years, they chose not to have children and shared a...