Coroner delivers suicide verdict at inquest into Rose Paterson's death

Coroner John Ellery delivered a verdict of suicide at an inquest into the death of Rose Paterson in Shrewsbury on Tuesday.

The body of the chairman of Aintree racecourse was discovered in woodland close to her home in Ellesmere, near Wrexham, in the early hours of June 24, after the police were called as she had not been seen since 10pm on June 22.

A post-mortem conducted by pathologist Joanne Stafford revealed she had died by hanging. Paterson left no note but her elder son Felix gave evidence to the inquest that a check on her browser history revealed she had made three internet searches for methods of suicide.

Her husband, Conservative MP Owen Paterson, said he spoke to Mrs Paterson by phone from London twice on June 22 but four attempted calls the next day went unanswered. When his younger son Ned rang to say he had not seen her all day, Owen Paterson called 999 from his office and drove home with Felix.

After the inquest, which he attended by video link, Paterson said: “The coroner’s verdict that my wife Rose committed suicide by hanging is absolutely tragic for me, my family and all who knew her. We were married for 40 very happy years. We are still a long way from beginning to come to terms with her death.

“I would like to thank the Shropshire coroner and West Mercia Police for the very sensitive manner in which they have handled this tragedy.

“I'm now horribly aware that 18 people commit suicide every day in the UK and I intend to become more involved in suicide-prevention strategies. If I can prevent just one family going through the extreme anguish that our family is currently suffering I will have done something really worthwhile.”

Rose Paterson, 63, had been chairman at Aintree since 2014 and joined the Jockey Club board of stewards last year.

Aintree chairman Nicholas Wrigley said: “We send our deepest condolences to Rose’s husband Owen and children Felix, Ned and Evie. Rose was such a wonderful and highly respected chairman at Aintree and a member of Aintree’s main board of stewards.

“She was a popular and caring person and will be sorely missed by her friends at Aintree, our local community partners and across the Jockey Club.”

If you have been affected by this sad news and would like to talk to someone, Racing Welfare's team are available 24/7 via Racing’s Support Line on 0800 6300 443 or visit www.racingwelfare.co.uk, as are charity Samaritans by calling 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.