A devoted elderly couple suffocated each other to death in a freak accident after both of them fell down the stairs and ended up unable to breathe.
Late lovers, John Wood and Mary Murphy
John Wood, 67, and his long-time girlfriend, Mary Murphy, 66, were found lifeless in Miss Murphy's home in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, after celebrating her birthday.
The two had returned to Miss Murphy's home after a visit to a nearby village - her birthday treat - and are thought to have both fallen within minutes of each other at around 4am.
An inquest into the deaths heard that Mr Wood, a retired maintenance worker, fell over while trying to help Miss Murphy, a former civil servant, to bed. First he fell down the stairs and his head became jammed under a radiator. Then she tried to treat him only to fall and collapse on top of him.
The two ended up in a position which left both of them unable to breathe, then choked to death.
Heywood Coroner's Court was told that the two, who had been engaged for 43 years but never married, had been drinking earlier that day in Stalybridge before the fall. They were discovered the next day by a concerned friend who went into Miss Murphy's house.
An inquest into the deaths heard that Mr Wood, a retired maintenance worker, fell over while trying to help Miss Murphy, a former civil servant, to bed. First he fell down the stairs and his head became jammed under a radiator. Then she tried to treat him only to fall and collapse on top of him.
The two ended up in a position which left both of them unable to breathe, then choked to death.
Heywood Coroner's Court was told that the two, who had been engaged for 43 years but never married, had been drinking earlier that day in Stalybridge before the fall. They were discovered the next day by a concerned friend who went into Miss Murphy's house.
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