Two pensioners were found dead by their daughter-in-law after she found a chilling note they had stuck to the front door.
Tony and Phyllis Gilbert, both 83, were found dead in their bungalow at Dromneavane, Kenmare, Co. Kerry, Ireland, shortly after 10am on November 14, 2021.
Giving evidence at an inquest in Tralee District Court yesterday, their daughter-in-law, Beryl Gilbert, who did regular shopping for the couple, said that because of Covid restrictions, her plan that morning was to leave the groceries she had bought at the door of their home.
However, she spotted a note pinned to the door which read: ‘All going to plan we should be dead.’ The note asked the reader to call gardaí and indicated there was a key in a flower pot with which gardaí could gain entry.
Coroner for Kerry Aisling Quilter noted that shortly after the bodies of Tony and Phyllis were found, gardaí spotted a tape recorder in the house which had two recordings of the couple’s voices. A note directed gardaí to listen to the recordings.
Tony Gilbert said in the recording that the couple had been ‘together in life’ and planned to be ‘together in sleep’.
The inquest heard that the couple had moved to Co. Kerry from the UK in the 1990s.
They previously ran a successful glass engraving business at Henry Street in Kenmare.
Phyllis and Tony, both 83, had been ‘together in life and planned to be together in sleep’
Felicity Gilbert, a granddaughter of the couple, said they were ‘as close as you can be companionship-wise’.
She said that the pair had become ‘quite reclusive’ and were keeping their distance from society because of the Covid virus.
Vincent Coakley, solicitor, told gardaí that Mr Gilbert contacted him in October 2021 by phone, inquiring about the writing of a will for himself and his wife.
Mr Gilbert told Mr Coakley that they were ‘anxious to make a will because of good health’.
He said that the couple were hesitant about coming into his office to sign their wills, having given him details of their wishes over the phone. Mr Gilbert said that they were worried about the Covid virus because of Phyllis’s vulnerabilities health-wise.
However, Tony and Phyllis did come to his office on the afternoon of November 10, 2021, and signed their wills.
Mr Coakley indicated that while Mrs Gilbert was ‘very infirm’, both she and her husband had the mental competence to write their own wills.
There was no duress and the signing of the wills was witnessed by three people.
The Garda evidence was that a patrol car was called to the scene at around 10.20am on November 14, 2021.
Gardaí entered the bungalow and found the elderly couple dead in a bedroom. There was no sign of injury or trauma on either party. The couple were in separate beds.
Meanwhile, Garda James Hendricks said in evidence that there was a note at the door that said if all had gone according to plan, both parties would be dead inside the property.
He said that when gardaí entered, they found the bodies of the couple. Rigor mortis had set in for both deceased.
Garda Hendricks indicated that there was a tape recorder in the bedroom. A note on it directed gardaí to listen to recordings.
Chief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan did postmortems on the deceased at University Hospital Kerry in Tralee.
She said that Tony and Phyllis Gilbert had ingested a poisonous substance, which had led to their deaths. Toxicology results confirmed that the pair had died having taken a poisonous substance.
Dr Mulligan told the relatives of the deceased that death would have occurred fairly quickly for both. She noted that Phyllis Gilbert had stage four pancreatic cancer when she died, with the cancer having metastasised throughout her body.
Coroner Ms Quilter said that it was clear that the married couple had made plans before their deaths.
She returned a verdict of suicide in both cases and offered her heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of the deceased. She said it was ‘a traumatic’ case.
Garda sergeant Aoife Dolan offered her condolences to the family on behalf of the gardaí. Sgt Dolan said that it was ‘very hard’ for the family to lose both Phyllis and Tony at the same time.
Following the tragedy, locals described Mr Gilbert as having been ‘very talented and artistic’. The couple were said to have been ‘very quiet and unassuming’.
A private cremation took place at the Island Crematorium in Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork.
