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TV presenter Speight hanged himself with his shoelaces
Anna Davis, Evening Standard20.05.08
Television presenter Mark Speight hanged himself with his shoelaces, a coroner ruled today.
Westminster Coroner's Court heard that minutes earlier the 42-year-old had unsuccessfully tried to hang himself with his belt at Paddington railway station. He had been missing for six days.
Coroner Dr Paul Knapman said Speight was "devastated" by the death of his fiancée Natasha Collins and his death was a "tragedy".
Collins, 31, was found dead in a bath with 60 per cent water burns at the couple's flat in St John's Wood on 3 January. At her inquest, a verdict of misadventure was recorded after the coroner heard the actress and TV presenter had a "significant amount" of cocaine in her body when she died.
Today's inquest heard that Speight, best known for presenting BBC children's show SMart, had tried to see a counsellor on the day he went missing. He went to her home in Kilburn on 7 April but found she was out.
Speight, who had been seeing two counsellors since Collins's death and was also under the care of her mother's GP, had muddled up appointments. After discovering nobody was in, he telephoned the counsellor to rearrange the meeting for the next day but he then failed to return home
The inquest heard his body was found on the roof of McMillan House at the station on 13 April.
A toxicology report showed he had no drugs or alcohol in his system and his tongue was so dry he could have been hanging there for days.
Pc Andrew Durrant said he spoke to Speight hours before he disappeared in Chamberlayne Road, Kensal Rise. He and a fellow officer asked him if he was okay and the presenter replied: "No."
He said: "I explained to the man that if he preferred to speak to us in confidence that would be fine and we could arrange this. The man appeared vacant and thoughtful and paused before answering: 'No, it's okay, I don't wish to speak with you'."
Speight was next caught on CCTV entering the Hilton Hotel next to McMillan House at 3.01pm on the same day. The coroner heard he took the lift to the sixth floor, which has a fire exit leading directly on to the roof of McMillan House.
Brian Golding, a station officer at Paddington, was showing two new members of staff around when he discovered the body.
Speight had a broken belt and a note in his trouser pockets, with an unlaced trainer nearby, and was hanging from a handrail on the roof with his laces round his neck.
Dr Peter Wilkins, who carried out the post mortem on Speight, said marks on his neck showed he may have tried to hang himself unsuccessfully before his final attempt.
Recording a verdict of suicide, Dr Knapman said: "It seems to me he has decided upon a course of action to kill himself. And what a tragedy. Clearly, he was so devastated by the loss of Natasha Collins that, at this time, he could not contemplate life without her."
After the inquest,Speight's father Oliver said: "From the family perspective we want to say how proud we are of Mark. His dignity and honour are in place. No drink, no drugs in his system."
