Ramsey man's tragic last text

Inquest records suicide verdict

An inquest has heard how a Ramsey man committed suicide after finding the pressure of life unbearable.

Mark Reginald Roberts, 34, died last June, just months after moving here from England.

Originally from Hereford, Mr Roberts had spent much of his childhood with family in the Isle of Man, as well as several years in foster care.

Despite struggling with drug addiction, he had decided to turn his life around, and in late 2016 moved back to look after his grandparents full time.

He was said to have had few friends here, and endured a great deal of stress caring for his ailing grandmother, while also taking methadone and anti-depressants.

In the early hours of 12 June last year, Mr Roberts sent a text message to his brother which read:

'Sorry [for] tomorrow. Goodbye... I'm tired'.

He was discovered hanging in his bedroom later that morning.

Recording a verdict of suicide, Coroner of Inquests John Needham paid tribute to a 'gentle and devoted' but otherwise 'lonely' individual - and added the 'extremely demanding' nature of being a carer had played a role in his decision to end his own life.