Inquest: Devoted Exeter couple died together after deciding they did not want to live without each other
John Foulston, 86, and his 85-year-old wife Annabel had been married for nearly 60 years
Last updated 7th Oct 2025
A devoted couple who had been married for nearly 60 years died together as they did not wish to live without each other, an inquest heard.
John Foulston, 86, and his 85-year-old wife Annabel were found dead at their home in Topsham, Exeter, in February last year.
Devon, Plymouth and Torbay Coroner's Court heard the couple were found deceased in their living room by family friends who they had asked to call around the previous day to sign some documents.
On entering the house, a note was pinned to an inner door asking them not to enter and to inform the local undertaker.
Area coroner Alison Longhorn told the hearing Mr Foulston, a retired biochemical engineer, and his wife, a former podiatrist, had left several notes and audio recordings outlining their intentions.
The couple, who had married in 1967 and did not have children, had also cleared their home of some of their possessions.
Family friend Veronika Clayden said Mr Foulston had suffered a fractured hip the previous year and his wife had osteoporosis.
"Since John's fall, they were both stressed about the future, but not depressed or anything like that," Mrs Clayden said in a written statement read to the court.
"I think that they'd planned their deaths for a long time - it was like a military operation.
"They never mentioned anything about it to me beforehand.
"They had made comments sometimes, 'When you get to a certain age, you shouldn't have to keep going on, it isn't right'.
"They told me that friends had started to pass away or be diagnosed with various illnesses. They thought it was cruel.
"After their deaths, I found an envelope crammed full of assisted dying clippings from papers. They had obviously been looking at assisted dying for a number of years."
Mrs Clayden said the couple had left a voice recording outlining their intentions.
She added: "I'm certain that they planned it so that my husband Gary and I would find them.
"They did everything together. They made their decisions together. They didn't want to end up in worse health. One would not be able to cope without the other."
A police investigation found there was no evidence of any third party involvement in the deaths of the couple.
Detective Sergeant Charlie Wilkes told the hearing the couple had left detailed instructions about their financial affairs following their deaths, and also a letter addressed to the coroner and a duty doctor.
The coroner gave the cause of death for Mr and Mrs Foulston as asphyxiation and recorded conclusions of suicide.
"Both John and Annabel had had falls in the year before their deaths, and they had made a conscious decision not to go out," she said.
"They were clearly fearful of further falls, which may have resulted in them being separated by hospital admission.
"With the benefit of hindsight, it's clear that John and Annabel were planning their deaths and how they would then be discovered.
"It was plainly apparent that the couple had been planning their deaths for many months.
"Their belongings had been tidied away and instructions had been left about their estate.
"They had left a note for His Majesty's coroner in which they stated that they had decided to take their lives of their own free will.
"Letters had been sent to friends, family and the GP timed to be delivered after their deaths, and two audibly recorded messages were found on a voice recording device.
"The content of some of the communication indicates that the couple found the absence of legal euthanasia in this country very difficult, and it's clear to me that they decided to effectively take matters into their own hands and decide that they wanted to choose when they wanted their lives to end.
"I acknowledge that within their letter, they have actually said that they don't want to be considered as people who had taken their own lives by suicide, and I can entirely understand why they have that wish.
"But for me, as a coroner, I have to record the legally recognised conclusion and that is suicide.
"Whilst I record the conclusion of suicide, I acknowledge that their wish that they would not want it to be seen as such, and had there been a legally and socially recognised and accepted euthanasia, they absolutely would have taken that route, and I don't doubt that for a moment."
Addressing friends of the couple who attended the hearing, she added: "John and Annabel sound like very interesting, unique, marvellous people, and I am sure that they are greatly missed by you all.
"I can imagine that they have left a big void in your lives. So please do accept my condolences and pass them on to the very many friends that I know that John and Annabel both had."