Couple jump hand in hand from 180ft cliff following tragic diagnosis

A couple who were discovered dead at the bottom of a cliff chose to take their own lives after one of them received a bone cancer diagnosis.

David, 80, and Susan Jeffcock, 74, climbed 199 steps up to the historic Whitby Abbey landmark before slipping through a fence at the rear. The devoted pair stood at the summit of East Cliff before clasping hands and jumping 180ft to their deaths, reports the Mirror.

The 80 year old had been battling the impacts of his cancer and had penned a note to a solicitor outlining their reasoning. It read: “Susan wants to come with me.”

The couple, who had been wed for 52 years, were discovered dead on July 30. North Yorkshire Police received a report from a member of the public who stated they had seen a man and woman on the rocks.

Senior North Yorkshire Coroner Jon confirmed the provisional cause of their deaths was recorded as “multi-trauma”. A man, believed to be a relative, revealed the extent of David’s suffering.

He told Mail Online: “It is extremely sad to think of them in that position, where they both wanted to take their own lives and to go together. But a friend of mine reminded me that they had made up their own minds and they did what they wanted to do, which brings some comfort, it was their own decision.”

He noted a change in demeanour, stating: “The last time I saw them, my Uncle David really wasn’t himself,” he elaborated. “He was withdrawn and clearly struggling with the pain brought about by the bone cancer.”

Both inquests have been adjourned to a date yet to be determined. No family members were present in court.

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