Accountant took his own life after buying knife

An accountant quizzed by police over an assault on his wife in a supermarket took his life with a knife bought in the store, an inquest heard. 

Glossop-born Graham Moore (pictured) had been suffering from anxiety and depression and was said to be in ‘a deep hole emotionally.’ The 64-year-old ‘workaholic’ was prescribed anti-depressants and sleeping tablets, but had become increasingly aggressive. 

His second wife Carol said she ‘struggled to cope with his behaviour while he was on the medication’ and decided she needed to get away from him. 

But when she revealed her plan to leave him while on a shopping trip he reacted by grabbing her and she ran for help from supermarket staff, who dialled 999. 

Police spoke to Mr Moore and his wife, who said she was scared of her husband and was going to stay with her daughter, but asked them not to press charges. 

After consulting an on-call mental health nurse the officers decided he did not need to be detained and left him in the shop where he purchased groceries and a large £4.50 kitchen knife. 

Later that day he drove to a nearby village, left his car and was spotted on CCTV walking off down a country lane. He was reported missing and search teams went out looking for him. 

Six days later he was found dead in woodland close to the Chatsworth estate. An empty bottle of whisky and the blood stained kitchen knife lay nearby. 

Chesterfield Coroner’s Court was told the couple had married in April 2019, but had been in a relationship for a decade. Mr Moore had started his own business and the couple had moved to the Derbyshire Dales village of Youlgrave in 2016, but he constantly worried about money and work. His wife said he could also be ‘controlling.’ 

In the three months before his death she said he was not sleeping and his moods became unpredictable. He made comments about cutting himself or throwing himself in a quarry. But it was his aggressive behaviour that she was concerned about and in early June 2019, she persuaded him to see his GP. 

Det Cons Toby Maddock said Mr Moore visited his GP on June 4 last year complaining about anxiety, sleeping problems and poor appetite, and was prescribed medication. 

But his wife, who did not attend the hearing, told police: “He seemed to go into a deep hole emotionally. His behaviour became stressful and overwhelming. He was acting weirdly.” 

She said he did not want to get out of bed in the morning and when she tried to get up he would grab her arm in a bid to prevent her leaving the bedroom. 

His behaviour was the same when they woke on the morning of Sunday, June 16, before he suddenly became enthusiastic about going to the shops.  

She agreed to go shopping with him to the Sainsbury store in Matlock, but she had decided to tell him she wanted a break from the relationship while there, in the hope the public setting would stop him reacting aggressively. When she broke the news to him he grabbed her, leaving her fearful for her safety. 

She ran for help saying she had been assaulted by her husband and store staff called police. 

Det Cons Maddock said two officers attended the supermarket and found Mr Moore sat in the store’s café area. 

He was questioned about the incident but said he had only taken his wife by the arm and had not intended to hurt her. 

Det Cons Maddock said Mrs Moore did not want her husband to be arrested, but was keen for him to ‘get help’ while she went to stay with her daughter in Surrey.

“She said she didn’t want to leave him for good, but needed to ‘get away for a few days to diffuse the situation’,” he told the inquest. 

A female officer said she would take Mrs Moore to the station to catch a train down south and ensure she was safe. 

“Officers liaised with the mental health triage service and referred Mr Moore for additional support via his GP,” Det Cons Maddock said. 

The court heard the accountant appeared willing to discuss things with his doctor who he already had an appointment to see two days later. He did not express any suicidal thoughts at the time and he did not want to go to hospital. 

They did issue Mr Moore with a Police Protection Notice (PPN) which included a ‘cool-down’ condition preventing him from contacting his wife for 24 hours. 

But after the officers left the store Mr Moore stayed and carried out a grocery shop, also buying the kitchen knife. 

He then returned home, put the shopping away, before visiting two friends in the village. Both said he was upset by events, but neither thought he was likely to harm himself. 

Then he texted his wife as she was onboard a train saying: “Please come back, I will be good… I’m desperate.” 

He tried to ring her, before calling a friend just before 3pm. That was the last time anyone spoke to him. 

Later that afternoon he parked his car in a side street in the village of Rowsley and walked off down the street dressed in walking gear. It is thought he took his life that same evening.

After no one heard from him for three days and he missed the doctor’s appointment his stepdaughter reported him missing. After the discovery of his car on June 20 the search concentrated on the area around Rowsley. 

His body was found in a secluded wood by a member of the mountain rescue teams two days later. A post-mortem concluded he died as a result of haemorrhaging due to self-inflicted lacerations. 

Recording a verdict of suicide Derbyshire Area coroner Peter Nieto said he did not find ‘any issues with regards to the police response’ to the incident in Sainsbury’s. 

“From the evidence I have seen nothing to indicate the police should have taken any other courses of action thanthose they did take,” he added. 

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