Elderly couple who fell 180ft to their deaths left heartbreaking note

The family of an elderly couple who tragically fell 180ft to their deaths following his courageous fight with cancer have said the pair were “completely devoted to each other”. David, 80, and Susan Jeffcock, 74, embarked on what they knew would be their final journey together, walking from their flat with harbour views, up the steps towards the clifftops overlooking the town.

They had left a note at their Whitby home for their solicitor. They paused briefly at the summit of East Cliff before holding hands and stepping over the edge, according to the Daily Mail.

David had been battling bone cancer and was worn down by the relentless pain it caused – and his wife of 52 years simply couldn’t bear the thought of living without him. In the message they left for their solicitor, David expressed regret for any distress their deaths might cause, but concluded the heartbreaking letter with – “Susan wants to come with me”.

David’s nephew Kevin Shepherd, 66, described their “complete devotion to each other” and believes they had been meticulously planning their suicide for a significant amount of time, Yorkshire Live reports.

He had witnessed his uncle, a former taxi and bus driver, change from the cheerful and outgoing individual he had always known into someone who was withdrawn and struggling with everyday life. The pair had no children, meaning the burden of his constant care fell entirely upon Susan, who could only watch helplessly as his condition worsened steadily, reports Chronicle Live, reports Nottinghamshire Live.

In time, David’s pain became too much to bear, leading the couple to form a suicide pact, with Susan stating firmly that life without him was unthinkable.

Kevin, a funeral celebrant from Rotherham, said: “It is extremely sad to think of them in that position, where they both wanted to take their own lives and to go together. The last time I saw them, my Uncle David really wasn’t himself. He was withdrawn and clearly struggling with the pain brought about by the bone cancer.

“He told me that the Gabapentin he was taking wasn’t having very much effect and that he was really struggling with the pain. It looks as though in the end it was just too much.

“We think it’s possible he may have learnt he didn’t have much longer to live and rather than live out that time in pain he had chosen to end it. ‘Between them they had come to the decision that Susan wanted to go with him, I suppose she just didn’t see what her life would be without him.

“There was no immediate family to inform but I was named in Uncle David’s will and their solicitor got in touch to say ‘I’m sorry but Mr and Mrs Jeffcocks have both passed away. It came as a shock to lose them both at once and initially I wondered if it might have been a car accident, but the solicitor indicated from the letter that they had taken their own lives.”

David, originally from Sheffield, wrote a letter to his solicitor and personally delivered it to the Whitby firm on their last day, posting it through the letterbox.

Born and bred in Sheffield, David spent most of his life there, working for the council transporting children to special needs schools in his later years. The only exception was a three-year stint in Australia, where he was one of the UK’s ‘£10 poms’ who emigrated under the government’s Assisted Passage Scheme to work as a postman before returning to Sheffield.

Around 1970, he met Susan, who had relocated to Sheffield from her native Hemsworth. They chose to settle in Whitby in their 60s, in search of a tranquil life.

Kevin shared: “They loved the place. It boasted a fantastic view across the harbour and out to sea, and they truly felt content there. They strongly felt that Whitby was home. I recall my Uncle David mentioning how you could enter an empty pub, settle down with a drink, and within minutes it would be bustling with people dressed as pirates.”

The inquest into the deaths of David and Susan will continue next year, under the jurisdiction of the North Yorkshire coroner. The preliminary inquest, which commenced in Northallerton on Monday, disclosed that their cause of death was ‘multi-trauma’, as per a pathologist’s report.

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