THE SON of an elderly Co Fermanagh couple believes his parents had an agreement to end their lives if the Alzheimer’s disease from which his mother was suffering proved “too degrading”.
James Barbour confirmed yesterday that his mother Ann (83) was found dead in her bed at home and that he believed his father then took his own life in a nearby lough.
Results of a postmortem, released yesterday, concluded that Mrs Barbour died from suffocation. The body of her 88-year-old husband was found later in Lough Rossole, a short distance from their Enniskillen home.
The PSNI in Co Fermanagh says it is not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.
In an interview with BBC Northern Ireland last night, the couple’s son James said a note left at the house read: “Dementia is too degrading an illness to be suffered unnecessarily. We lived too long.”
He said he believed his parents, a well-known and highly respected couple in Enniskillen, had decided well in advance what they would do if Mrs Barbour’s illness progressed to a certain stage.
“I think the circumstance and the timing were entirely in keeping with this being something that had been thought out carefully,” he said.
“I think that what happened was probably predetermined by my father and I am inclined to believe very strongly, because I know the sort of person that my mother was, I believe that she would have asked him to make such a determination.”
Mrs Barbour’s mother had also suffered from Alzheimer’s.
“Her own mother died with Alzheimer’s disease and I strongly suspect, although I have no proof, that my mother would have said to my father a long time ago that if she found that she had this condition that he would not allow things to progress beyond a point at which her dignity was beginning to be lost.”
Mrs Barbour was found by a neighbour, a retired doctor, at their home off the Sligo Road in the town on Tuesday evening and it is understood that the note found at the house prompted the police to search the local area.
James Barbour said he believed the timing of the deaths was deliberate and not the result of any failure to cope.
“The monthly meeting that my father should have attended provided the opportunity because he knew that if he didn’t go that there would eventually be a visit to the house from other people. He knew that the person most likely to visit was a retired doctor and therefore someone, I very much hope my father was right in saying, that the shock would thus be less for such a person.” Local people and their political representatives have expressed their shock at events.
Alliance leader David Ford said: “Bill Barbour was well known and widely respected in his role as a teacher in Enniskillen.”
Sinn Féin Fermanagh-South Tyrone MP Michelle Gildernew described the death of Mrs Barbour and her husband as “a real tragedy”.
“This is a well-known and respected family in the area and my heart goes out to them at this very difficult time,” she said.
SDLP Assembly member Tommy Gallagher expressed his sympathy with the Barbour family. He said the couple were well known and widely respected by all in the local community.
DUP Industry Minister and local representative Arlene Foster also spoke highly of the couple and resisted speculation about the whereabouts of Mr Barbour.