Suicide recorded at inquest into death of Roger Crouch
The inquest into the death of Roger Crouch has seen a verdict of suicide recorded.
Mr Crouch had campaigned to raise awareness of efforts to tackle homophobic bullying after his son Dominic’s own suicide in 2010 and was named Stonewall’s Hero of the Year in 2011.
His son, Dominic Crouch had been the subject of rumours after he kissed a boy as part of a game on a school trip. The 15-year-old died after jumping from a building, leaving a note about the rumours that had started about him.
Mr Crouch was found dead by his wife, Paola on 28 November last year. She told the inquest there was “a lot of death” in his life.
The BBC reports that Mr Crouch had left a note saying “Au Revoir, so long – or maybe A Bientot” on Facebook shortly before he died.
The assistant coroner said: “Clearly he was very taken up with campaigning for his son and others he felt may have been subjected to bullying.
“But he was eventually overwhelmed by grief for his son. On the evidence I feel I can be sure of his settled intent to take his own life.”
Paola Crouch told the Gloucester Coroners Court: “I think it’s what you might call in an old fashioned way, a broken heart.”
At the time of Mr Crouch’s death, Joanne Dunning of the Lesbian and Gay Foundation, with whom he worked, said: “It seemed like he was only just getting the recognition he deserved for his anti-bullying work, this month he was named Stonewall Hero of the Year, and had been promoting the work of Diversity Role Models at The House of Commons in his role as patron of the new charity.”
