Plymouth Man With ‘Mild Autism’ Killed Himself When He Faced Eviction

A GARDENER who was unable to pay his housing association rent may have taken his own life on the day he was to be evicted, an inquest heard.

The body of Peter Kelleher was found on June 25 by police after a neighbour alerted them to a build up of post, an abundance of flies and a strange smell coming from his ground floor flat in Diamond Avenue, Greenbank

Officers forced their way into the property and found the 44-year-old kneeling behind the flat door, a ligature round his neck attached to the door handle.

Police reported that Mr Kelleher’s body was in a state of decomposition and that all windows and doors were closed and locked.

He had been born in Ealing, London and brought up by his mother. After his parent’s divorce he had initially went to live with his father in Fulham but seven years ago his mother and he both moved to Plymouth.

When his mum became ill, Mr Kelleher gave up his job as a gardener for SERCO and became her carer.

His mother passed away in September last year and in February this year his brother, Michael Kellerher, helped him moved out of her home into a flat of his own. When their father then fell ill, Michael returned to care for him in London.

Det Con Wood said during his investigation, Michael – who attended his brother’s inquest – explained how Peter was a shy person, who he felt had a “type of mild autism but never diagnosed”.

His inquiries found that Peter had been prescribed Fluoxetine, but had not taken the anti-depressant.

Michael Kellerher told Plymouth coroner Ian Arrow that he had found a series of letters from a housing association addressed to his brother in the pile at the front door demanding rent payments, highlighting the bills went from “£200” to “£700”.

He said had also found a notice of eviction set for June 17 – the date he believes his brother took his own life.

Coroner Ian Arrow said a post mortem report found that Mr Kelleher’s bladder and stomach was empty.

Michael told the coroner he had learned that from the day his brother moved into the address: “He wasn’t receiving any benefit whatsoever.”

Sadly, he said his brother had given his family no indication that his financial situation was “so severe”.

He said: “These letters were saying ‘you owe us £200’ and ‘you owe us £700’.

“But for him not to have told us this is just unknown to us. I’m having major trouble with that part of it.

“He must’ve gone hungry for more than a day. Why didn’t he tell me?”

Michael Kellerher revealed his brother had left a note bearing two names and two phone numbers.

Mr Arrow recorded a verdict that Mr Kellerher had taken his own life.

The Herald later learned the property was managed by DCH, formerly Devon & Cornwall Housing.

Asked what efforts they made to assist Mr Kellerher with his finances, a spokesperson from DCH said: “Our thoughts are with Mr Kelleher’s family at this time and we will continue to offer our support to them.

“We are unable to discuss the circumstances of individual residents however we are committed to ensuring each and every one of our residents has access to the relevant support and advice they need and our teams work hard to deliver this, working closely where possible with each individual resident.”