Verger's Minster plunge riddle |
| Written by yorkguides.co.uk | |
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Coroner returns suicide verdict but says reason for man's death-fall from tower is still a mystery Paul Jeeves A VERGER at York Minster committed suicide when he stepped off the cathedral's north-west tower and fell to his death in front of horrified tourists, an inquest heard yesterday. John Angus died from multiple injuries caused by the 60ft fall, but the inquest in York was told that it remained a mystery why he decided to take his own life. Mr Angus, who would have celebrated his 59th birthday yesterday, had worked at York Minster for 25 years before his death on Sunday, February 27. His brother, Charles, who shared a home with Mr Angus in St Mary's, Bootham, York, said he could still find no reason why the long-serving member of York Minster had committed suicide. "I wish you could throw some light on it," Charles Angus told the coroner. He described his brother as a private man who had previously suffered from bouts of depression. However, the inquest heard that Mr Angus had not spoken of any concerns before his death. The Dean of York, Keith Jones, and the Precentor, Canon Jeremy Fletcher, were called to the west front of the Minster where they said prayers at the side of Mr Angus' body. The Dean said yesterday: "We have heard the result of the inquest with great sadness. We remember John with affection and are glad this closes the final chapter." The inquest heard that tourists at York Minster watched in horror as Mr Angus stepped from a parapet and plunged to his death. In a statement, Matthew Stokes, from Leeds, said: "I was looking at the centre of the two towers when movement caught my eye. I shifted my glance to the left tower... I saw a male stepping over a foot-high wall and fall off the tower itself. "He did not propel himself in any way. He just walked off the edifice. He was not flailing his arms in any way. He looked relaxed." Minster staff said Mr Angus appeared "his normal self" when they saw him only hours before he died. The inquest was told that Mr Angus took keys for the Minster's north-west tower, which is not open to public, and climbed the steps before stepping off a balcony and falling to the ground below. Det Con Richard Gray, a crime scene investigator with North Yorkshire Police, said he found no hazard on the balcony that would have caused Mr Angus to trip. Mr Angus had joined the Minster staff in October 1980 as part of a team of vergers who help with the day-to-day running of the cathedral. He was originally a teacher, and had taught science at night classes in York. Recording a verdict of suicide, Coroner Donald Coverdale said it was clear that Mr Angus deliberately stepped off the tower and must have expected the "inevitable consequence of dying from his injuries". Mr Coverdale added: "I have dismissed the possibility of this being an accident. "There's no question of the stonework being slippery. He had no real reason to be at that height of the Minster." |
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