Retired salesman found dead along with his ‘ill’ wife at their £800k seaside home in Huntington’s ‘mercy killing’ and suicide

A retired salesman tried to cope with his wife’s terminal illness by bludgeoning and strangling her to death before killing himself, an inquest heard today.

The bodies of Heather and Michael Newton were found in their £800,000 home near Poole Harbor in Dorset on New Year’s Eve last year.

Ms Newton suffered from Huntington’s disease, a fatal disease that causes nerve cells in the brain to decay over time.

The inquest into their deaths in Bournemouth heard Ms Newton’s symptoms had worsened in the weeks before her death.

Her husband was said to have become “emotionally unstable and irritable”, a change in temperament that he found difficult to cope with, according to the coroner.

The couple had spent Christmas with family before returning home the next day.

Mr Newton, 76, is believed to have killed his wife of 40 years on the afternoon of December 27.

He left a note in his study next to the wills, expressing his sadness at ‘what had happened’ and the impact his wife’s deteriorating condition was having on both of them.

Concerned friends discovered their bodies after breaking in through the back door after several days without any sign of movement at the address in Lower Parkstone, Poole.

An autopsy confirmed that Ms. Newton, 70, died as a result of a combination of blunt head trauma caused by an unknown object and force applied to her neck.

Mr Newton died by hanging.

The inquest heard Huntington’s disease had been present in Ms Newton’s family for generations and was the reason they chose not to have children.

Ms Newton’s brother Christopher Wadman hosted the couple at his home in East Sussex for Christmas and was shocked by his sister’s worsening condition.

He said his sister was normally a cheerful person but ‘she seemed completely different’.

Ms Newton suffered from Huntington’s disease, a fatal disease that causes nerve cells in the brain to decay over time.

Several days passed with no sign of activity at the address in Lower Parkstone, Poole, but worried friends discovered their bodies after breaking in through the back door.

He said: ‘I was shocked, he had lost a lot of weight, his speech was slurred and his demeanor was distant.

‘There were moments on Christmas Day when she was distressed and Michael comforted her.

‘He couldn’t use the boiling water tap in our kitchen. Michael looked like he endured a lot of punishment but he coped well.

‘She was talking to herself, talking to Michael when he wasn’t in the room.

‘Michael said that he had been acting more erratically and had more outbursts of anger in the last few weeks, and that I was worried about him.’

‘They were supposed to stay longer but decided to leave the morning after Christmas because Heather ‘was done with work and wanted to go home.’

Mr Wadman said the couple ‘always relied on each other for support’.

His brother-in-law, Dr. Simon Wadman called Mr Newton when he returned home the next day. and recommended his wife speak to her GP to help manage her symptoms.

He said: ‘He told me the last three to four weeks had been very difficult for them; Heather was very emotionally unstable and angry and felt like she was walking on eggshells.

‘Mike was always very steady, stoic and collected.

‘There was nothing unusual about the meeting. It didn’t ring any alarm bells or make me worry about them. ‘The news of their deaths was completely unexpected.’

He tried to call again on December 29 but got no answer.

Ms. Newton was found lying on the kitchen and hallway floor with a head injury.

His sister said Mr Newton was her second husband and they seemed very happy, often enjoying sailing around the harbor in their boat before she fell ill.

Dorset county coroner Brendan Allen said Ms Newton had downplayed her symptoms to her doctors, but a post-mortem examination by a neurologist confirmed there were changes in her brain consistent with the disease.

Mr Allen said: ‘Heather and Michael Newton were a happily married couple who were committed, comfortable around each other and supportive of each other.

‘Ms Newton had a family history of Huntington’s disease and in recent years began to show mild symptoms consistent with the condition.’

He said the family was not concerned about their relationship despite Ms Newton’s ‘significant decline’.

It concluded that Mrs Newton died as a result of unlawful homicide and that Mr Newton died by suicide: ‘he took his own life through bond suspension after mortally wounding his wife’.