The children of couple who died with 48 hours of each other say they are still looking for answers over their beloved parents' deaths. Dad Steven Daniel, 48, was found in the River Humble 12 days after he was reported missing by his two youngest daughters on April 18, 2019. It was later determined that he had fallen from Humber Bridge.
Two days later, his partner of 23 years, Jane Cairns, 42, passed away at St James' University Hospital, Leeds. She had been airlifted from Scunthorpe General Hospital after taking a fatal overdose. At a joint inquest at Grimsby Town Hall, acting senior coroner for Lincolnshire, Paul Smith stated that the mum had taken an excessive quantity of medication possibly five days before her death, Hull Live reports.
He told grieving relatives who attended the hearings that the couples' deaths could not be concluded as suicides due to a lack of evidence of any deliberate acts or proof of intention to take their own lives. Their home on Cottage Beck Road, Scunthorpe was later searched by police, however no St James University Hospital notes were found.
There were no social media entries suggesting mental ill-health problems were present, and neither parent had spoken to their children of any intentions. Police investigators and the coroner were left baffled by the lack of evidence for the unexplained and extreme actions of both the parents within such a short time frame.
At the beginning of the hearing, Mr Smith had apologised that he could not explain why it had taken more than three-and-a-half years for the inquests to take place. However, police investigators were praised for the thorough investigation and examination of phone records and finances of both parents.
They lived together after having met 23 years before and were described as "acting more like loving best friends rather than a loving couple." Steven Daniel, father-of-four, had arranged a visit to Northampton Rugby Club in May to watch his eldest daughter Amie play a match. A hotel booking was made.
He had spoken to another daughter Katie days before he died to arrange spending time together and fix her bicycle. Despite having several health issues between the two of them, both parents were quoted by relatives as "reasonably happy”.
Their daughters spoke highly of their parents, explaining their father played in two rugby teams, Scunthorpe and Gainsborough, and how he had acquired many lifelong friends through his work with DHL transport in Scunthorpe. Managers said Steven seemed happy during work hours.
Many knew him as "a gentle giant" and Jane as "a quiet soul" who doted on their family, and Steven was well known in Scunthorpe. The inquests heard police investigated the couple’s finances but found nothing untoward. Daughter Amie told the hearing in a statement read by the coroner’s office that her father was worried about his health and had once told her “everyone in my life died young.”
He was first reported missing to police on April 18, when daughter Katie had stayed overnight at the family home. She and her father had arranged to go for a meal to Burger King the following day and to fix her bicycle. But her father was not at home.
It was later discovered he had not attended for work the previous evening. She said Jane had been unwell and told Katie not to trouble the police. When the daughter informed police they attended at the home. But Jane was dismissive of the officers and did not co-operate with their investigation.
She had appeared unwell but there was no indication she had taken an overdose of medication. A grandfather out walking near The Humber Bridge south shore gave evidence that he saw something fall from the Humber Bridge at around 11am on April 18 and he recalled hearing a splash. But he was 200 yards away and assumed workmen had dropped something.
It wasn't until two days later when search and rescue teams were looking along the shoreline that he mentioned the sighting to the volunteers. On April 30 lifeboat rescue teams retrieved his body from Reeds Island. He was dressed in an England rugby shirt and jogging trousers. He was formally identified.
A post-mortem examination conclusion was his death was unascertained and "there were no classic signs of drowning," the coroner told. Police traced the route of the silver Vauxhall Astra he had driven from Scunthorpe to Barton and CCTV revealed the pedestrian walking onto the bridge shortly before 11am.
But he had walked out of view of cameras on the bridge. The coroner said there was no conclusive evidence of him deliberately jumping from the bridge with an intention of taking his own life, but there was a strong inference that he had.
Police officers searching his home found two iPad devices tucked under a bed. But both had been wiped of all data and returned to factory settings, the inquest heard. The coroner said there had to be an "open" conclusion to the death because the "evidence is a little equivocal and there is no evidence of how he left the bridge and the cause of death is unknown."
He added; "There was no note, nothing on either iPad and there is no relevant mental health history. While it is possible he took his own life, I can't be certain."
After reading the post-mortem examination of Jane Cairns and reading out medical reports, the coroner said the ingestion of an overdose of prescribed medication had happened possibly around April 15. That was three days before Steven was formally reported missing to police.
Jane's mother, Mrs Knapton said in tribute that her daughter was "a good mother and a homemaker." She said she had no knowledge of any arguments and was surprised to get a call on April 19 from her daughter asking her to call round at her house. She told how she was laying on the sofa and said she had taken an overdose.
But the coroner said evidence from doctors and pathologists showed the overdose had been taken days earlier and had taken a number of days to take their toll. In his narrative conclusion, he said Jane Cairns had died from an excessive quantity of medication. She died at hospital in Leeds from multi-organ failure caused by the overdose.
The couple had four children, two of them together from their long-standing relationship which was described as "sound and solid." Mr Smith said there had been a dispute in the days before the missing person alert, but the nature of it was not known. He said he did not know what was on her mind at the time but she died from ingestion of an excessive quantity of medication. He issued his condolences to relatives at the hearing.
After the hearing, youngest daughter Arielle, previously known as Hannah, said: “Three years feels like yesterday. As a family, we are absolutely distraught. When everything happened, I lost my parents and my home, my pets and my ability to attend education. I woke up one day and lost everything I ever knew. To lose your parents like this at such a young age is unexplainable, debilitating and excruciating.
"Every day is a battle, and as a family we are still picking up the pieces, trying to fit an unattainable puzzle to figure out why they did what they did.”
She added: “My dad was the strongest, most heroic and caring person I ever knew while my Mum was the most gentle, compassionate, and empathetic. They were always trying to do their best for us, provide what they could, and in every single mental battle we fought- we never fought alone.
"It’s just a shame that they felt alone with their own. My mother was a stay-at-home mum and she was my absolute best friend while my dad was someone I could forever rely upon. We miss them like crazy.”
Where to get help
Anyone in distress can contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or by email.
For help on mental health issues or support for families and friends visit the charity Mind.
Mental health support available in Scunthorpe: If you are struggling with your mental health, North Lincolnshire Mind offers the Haven service. Anyone aged 16 years and over can call 01724 279500 from 4pm – 12 midnight 7-days a week. Trained staff are available to support people in managing their thoughts of self harm, distress, low mood and to help prevent crisis. More details are available on its website here.
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