Depressed family man shot himself in garden, inquest hears

Depression caused David Lewin to take his own life at his grade II listed home in Westbrook on June 17, his inquest at Newbury Town Hall heard last Wednesday.
Moments before the father-of-three, who was a well-known figure in Boxford and a church warden at St Andrew’s Church, shot himself, he called his wife Sophie.
She told his inquest: “I went up to bed and I think it was after I turned my light off that the telephone rang. He rang me from the garden and told me where he was and I realised things were very wrong. Something very wrong was going on.
“I jumped out of bed and I was shouting ‘no’. On my way down the stairs I heard a gunshot so I
immediately rang 999 and got the police and ambulance. Whilst I was talking on the phone, I saw on his desk a note, so I came to the conclusion that he had intended [to take his own life].
“I remembered feeling it was supposed to be a nightmare that I would wake up from.”
The inquest heard that Mr Lewin had been suffering from depression for at least nine years and saw a psychologist in London, who recorded that the 47-year-old had suicidal thoughts between 2004 and 2006.
The inquest also heard that Mr Lewin would often work long hours and travel across Europe
for his company Guy Carpenter and that he was due to give a presentation in Paris the next
day.
“I was really worried that he would end up having a heart attack or a stroke. It never occurred to me he would have taken his own life,” Mrs Lewin said.
“He was very much involved in the local community and in the church.”
A post mortem examination, carried out by Dr Gearoid Kingston at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, concluded that Mr Lewin died of a single shotgun wound to the head.
The assistant deputy coroner for Berkshire, Anna Burnside, recorded a verdict that Mr Lewin intended to take his own life while suffering from depression.
She said: “For the last 10 years or more Mr Lewin suffered anxiety and depression. He was taking medication and seeing a psychiatrist in London.
“His anxiety and depression was particularly bad in the last couple of years; he was under
stress at work.
“There was a note found and there was an indication from that, he wished to take his own life.”

DAVID Lewin’s wife has paid tribute to her late husband.
Mr Lewin was a well-known figure in Boxford and was a churchwarden at St Andrew’s Church. The 47-yearold devoted much of his spare time to organising fundraising events to fund renovation work on the Grade II-listed church.
Sophie Lewin said: “David was a very dedicated husband and father.
“He was very involved in the local community and had a very strong faith. He wanted to bring the church and the community together within Boxford.
“He showed an example of public service and concern for other people, which he never had for himself.”
Mr Lewin, who spoke fluent French and German, was an alumnus of Oxford University and was the managing director at reinsurance firm Guy Carpenter.
His wife thanked the local community for all their support since her husband’s death earlier this year.
“People have written in letters that he was too nice a person for the city; there are nice people in the city but he did not have a ruthless streak.
“The support in the village has been amazing and of immense comfort to me and my family,” Mrs Lewin added.
Fellow churchwarden at St Andrew’s Church, Boxford, Michael Appleton, said: “The village highly respected David. His death came as a great shock to everyone in Boxford.”