Two pensioners were found dead by their daughter-in-law after she found a chilling note they had stuck to the front door.
Tony and Phyllis Gilbert, both aged 83, were discovered deceased in their bungalow located in Dromneavane, Kenmare, County Kerry, Ireland, shortly after 10 a.m. on November 14, 2021.
During an inquest at the Tralee District Court yesterday, Beryl Gilbert, their daughter-in-law who regularly assisted with their shopping, testified. Due to Covid restrictions, her plan was to leave the purchased groceries at their doorstep that morning.
Instead, she found a note attached to the door stating: ‘All going to plan we should be dead.’ The message requested that the reader contact the police and mentioned a key in a flower pot for police entry.
Kerry Coroner Aisling Quilter remarked that soon after Tony and Phyllis’s bodies were located, the police found a tape recorder inside the house containing two recordings of the couple speaking. A note instructed the police to listen to these recordings.
Tony Gilbert said in the recording that the couple had been ‘together in life’ and planned to be ‘together in sleep’.
The inquest heard that the couple had moved to Co. Kerry from the UK in the 1990s.
They previously ran a successful glass engraving business at Henry Street in Kenmare.
Phyllis and Tony, both 83, had been ‘together in life and planned to be together in sleep’
Felicity Gilbert, a granddaughter of the couple, said they were ‘as close as you can be companionship-wise’.
She said that the pair had become ‘quite reclusive’ and were keeping their distance from society because of the Covid virus.
Solicitor Vincent Coakley informed the police that Mr. Gilbert phoned him in October 2021, seeking assistance in drafting a will for himself and his wife.
Mr Gilbert told Mr Coakley that they were ‘anxious to make a will because of good health’.
He explained that the couple was reluctant to visit his office to sign their documents, after having discussed their wishes by phone. Mr. Gilbert expressed concerns about Covid due to Phyllis’s health vulnerabilities.
However, Tony and Phyllis did come to his office on the afternoon of November 10, 2021, and signed their wills.
Mr Coakley indicated that while Mrs Gilbert was ‘very infirm’, both she and her husband had the mental competence to write their own wills.
There was no duress and the signing of the wills was witnessed by three people.
The Garda evidence was that a patrol car was called to the scene at around 10.20am on November 14, 2021.
Gardaí entered the bungalow and found the elderly couple dead in a bedroom. There was no sign of injury or trauma on either party. The couple were in separate beds.
Meanwhile, Garda James Hendricks said in evidence that there was a note at the door that said if all had gone according to plan, both parties would be dead inside the property.
He said that when gardaí entered, they found the bodies of the couple. Rigor mortis had set in for both deceased.
Garda Hendricks indicated that there was a tape recorder in the bedroom. A note on it directed gardaí to listen to recordings.
Chief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan did postmortems on the deceased at University Hospital Kerry in Tralee.
She said that Tony and Phyllis Gilbert had ingested a poisonous substance, which had led to their deaths. Toxicology results confirmed that the pair had died having taken a poisonous substance.
Dr Mulligan told the relatives of the deceased that death would have occurred fairly quickly for both. She noted that Phyllis Gilbert had stage four pancreatic cancer when she died, with the cancer having metastasised throughout her body.
Coroner Ms Quilter said that it was clear that the married couple had made plans before their deaths.
She returned a verdict of suicide in both cases and offered her heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of the deceased. She said it was ‘a traumatic’ case.
Garda sergeant Aoife Dolan offered her condolences to the family on behalf of the gardaí. Sgt Dolan said that it was ‘very hard’ for the family to lose both Phyllis and Tony at the same time.
Following the tragedy, locals described Mr Gilbert as having been ‘very talented and artistic’. The couple were said to have been ‘very quiet and unassuming’.
A private cremation took place at the Island Crematorium in Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork.
