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| Family criticises social services over deaths of elderly couple | Family criticises social services over deaths of elderly couple |
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| The family of an 86-year-old man who bludgeoned his wife to death then tried to kill himself have said authorities did not do enough to help him cope with caring for her. | The family of an 86-year-old man who bludgeoned his wife to death then tried to kill himself have said authorities did not do enough to help him cope with caring for her. |
| Angus Mayer had gone to a train station to kill himself. After he was found on the tracks he told a police officer who came to his aid: “I’ve killed my wife. She has Alzheimer’s. I didn’t want her to suffer any more.” | Angus Mayer had gone to a train station to kill himself. After he was found on the tracks he told a police officer who came to his aid: “I’ve killed my wife. She has Alzheimer’s. I didn’t want her to suffer any more.” |
| “I just want to die. Let me die. I’m going to be spending the rest of my life in prison. My wife suffers with dementia and incontinence. She told me if I ever put her in a home she’d kill herself. I told her it would be quick then I’d throw myself under a train.” | “I just want to die. Let me die. I’m going to be spending the rest of my life in prison. My wife suffers with dementia and incontinence. She told me if I ever put her in a home she’d kill herself. I told her it would be quick then I’d throw myself under a train.” |
| Police rushed to the Mayers’ house in Heath, Cardiff, and forced their way in to find Margaret Mayer, 85, dead in the couple’s bed. An inquest into her death heard on Wednesday that she had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for four years and was progressively getting worse. | |
| The pathologist, Dr Ryk James, said she suffered eight blunt-force injuries to her head and face, while a bedside lamp with its base stained in blood was found nearby. Injuries to her hands meant she may have raised them to protect her face, he added. | |
| “My wife took a lot of killing,” Mayer later told paramedics. “I just wanted to suffocate her. There was a lot of blood.” | “My wife took a lot of killing,” Mayer later told paramedics. “I just wanted to suffocate her. There was a lot of blood.” |
| The coroner was told that in the months before Mayer killed his wife, the couple’s six children had become increasingly worried about the strain that caring was having on him. | The coroner was told that in the months before Mayer killed his wife, the couple’s six children had become increasingly worried about the strain that caring was having on him. |
| They had raised concerns in February, after which Margaret Mayer began attending a day centre twice a week. But in the week before her death, in July, the children again contacted Cardiff council about their fears. | They had raised concerns in February, after which Margaret Mayer began attending a day centre twice a week. But in the week before her death, in July, the children again contacted Cardiff council about their fears. |
| The council’s adult services manager told the inquest there was nothing to suggest Margaret Mayer was in danger and, in hindsight, nothing would have been done differently. But the couple’s sons questioned why the wider family was not contacted in early July when there were concerns. | |
| “The council were passive rather than proactive,” their son Andrew, a BBC cameraman, said. “We don’t think the system is fit for purpose.” | “The council were passive rather than proactive,” their son Andrew, a BBC cameraman, said. “We don’t think the system is fit for purpose.” |
| Mayer, a retired salesman, had travelled three miles to Cardiff Central station and slid down the platform as a London Paddington to Swansea train pulled in. The inquest heard that he told a conductor he had wanted the train to run over his head. “But I couldn’t even do that right,” he added. | Mayer, a retired salesman, had travelled three miles to Cardiff Central station and slid down the platform as a London Paddington to Swansea train pulled in. The inquest heard that he told a conductor he had wanted the train to run over his head. “But I couldn’t even do that right,” he added. |
| Mayer was charged with murder while in hospital, but died from his injuries seven weeks later. In a letter to the inquest, Mayer’s children said their father “wanted to enjoy independent living, but, caught in the fog of fatigue, he gave up”. | Mayer was charged with murder while in hospital, but died from his injuries seven weeks later. In a letter to the inquest, Mayer’s children said their father “wanted to enjoy independent living, but, caught in the fog of fatigue, he gave up”. |
| The letter added that the family “will never know” if their parents would be alive today if more had been done. | The letter added that the family “will never know” if their parents would be alive today if more had been done. |
| The coroner, Andrew Barkley, recorded a verdict of unlawful killing. |