Pair in gas death pact met on suicide website

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Joanne Lee, 34, and Steve Lumb, 35, were found dead in his Vauxhall Astra on an industrial estate in Braintree, Essex, on Monday after succumbing to toxic chemical fumes.

Police believe the pair met in person hours earlier after striking up a correspondence on a suicide website.

Ms Lee, who is said to have had a severe eating disorder, had posted messages on the internet forum seeking advice on how to take her own life in the weeks before. She asked if hydrogen sulphide chemicals could be mixed in a bucket and how much she would need to kill herself in her bathroom.

She wrote: "Please somebody tell me that will be enough for my bathroom? Any help on this greatly appreciated." One forum member replied: "If your bathroom is small maybe that will work — if you ensured it was air tight as you could possibly make it." Ms Lee, from Great Notley, Essex, also said August 30 was the day she hoped to CTB (Catch The Bus) — a phrase used to describe suicide.

She wrote: "It's a special date for me. I was born on the 30th of January. I came in on the 30th, so I will go out on the 30th. I've never been so excited."

But after that date passed she appealed for a suicide partner with a car, writing: "I haven't the strength to do this alone. I'm not a cop, a cannibal or a murderer, just desperate. I have all the ingredients and want to do it ASAP."

Mr Lumb is believed to have driven 200 miles from his home in Sowerby, West Yorskhire, and arrived at the industrial estate on Sunday. A warehouse worker found his car the next day with the pair inside and a note in the window warning of the toxic gas.

Ms Lee's parents, Jill and Brian, said they had no idea she was visiting suicide websites and called her "very caring". Mr Lumb's father Melvin, who lived with his son, said he had never shown any signs that he was depressed.