A devoted husband left a goodbye letter saying “a big sorry” after killing his beloved wife in a tragic suicide pact.

Fred Saunders smothered his partner Marion with a pillow after the couple decided they wanted to die together.

But when his own suicide bid failed the 85-year-old retired builder spent four terrible days with her body in the flat they shared in Court Farm Road, Hove, before finally calling police for help.

Mr Saunders was in the final stages of terminal prostate cancer when his wife of 51 years, who suffered from severe arthritis, told him she could not carry on alone.

In the weeks before she died the couple gave away £2,500 to a prostate cancer charity and £6,000 to members of their family, pretending they had won the cash on premium bonds.

They also cancelled their subscription to Sky TV along with their car insurance, leaving just enough money to cover the cost of their funerals.

At midnight on Sunday, November 25, 71-year-old Marion told her ailing husband he had to kill her straight away before he became “too weak”.

When she lay down on the bed, he took a pillow and held it over her nose and mouth until she died.

The following morning Mr Saunders wrote two goodbye notes to friends and family signed “Love Marion and Fred” before trying to end his own life - but his suicide bid failed.

After four “confusing and traumatic” days alone in the flat he called 999, telling the operator: “We agreed we would go together. I took an overdose but it didn’t work so I thought it would be better to have her body taken away.”

An inquest into the tragic pair’s deaths was told yesterday that paramedics found Mrs Saunders lying on a bed in her nightie and dressing gown with a white cloth draped over her face.

Mr Saunders was arrested for his wife’s murder but was so ill he was taken straight to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, where he was placed under police guard.

In a tearful interview with officers, he said: “We’d been discussing it for eight or nine months when the cancer became bad and I couldn’t care for her any more. I was dangerously near the end and she didn’t want to fend for herself.

“She said ‘We’ve got to do it tonight or you’ll be too weak’. We used a pillow because we couldn’t think what else to use. It was very upsetting. I shouldn’t be here.”

Mr Saunders died from cancer just ten days later in hospital.

In a statement read out at the hearing, Mrs Saunders’ nephew Paul Sands said the “old fashioned” couple had been “devoted to each other”.

He said: “Fred did everything for Marion. He was a calm and gentle man. They didn’t have many friends but it was a very loving relationship.

“I believe she was a willing party.

Marion would not have coped without Fred.”

Dr Mark Howard, consultant autopsy pathologist, told the hearing Mr Saunders had been far too weak to restrain his wife, which suggested she had agreed to die.

But coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeney said she had “no choice” but to record a verdict of unlawful killing.

She said: “It’s the proper verdict to record but it doesn’t reflect the sad- ness with which this decision was made.”

 

In a heartbreaking parting letter Mr Saunders wrote:

"My wife and I have decided that our quality of life is so bad that we
would rather die.
"We both walk with difficulty and we don’t want to be a burden to other
people and relatives, so we hope to go quietly with no fuss.
"We have left enough money to bury us.
"So it’s goodbye to one and all and a big sorry for doing things this way.
"Love Marion and Fred."

 

If you are thinking about suicide you should: • Call the Samaritans support service on 08457 90 90 90 • Contact your GP