Norfolk coroner rules Julia Morris, 76, took her own life

An inquest into the death of Julia Morris, of Staithe Road, Hickling, near Stalham, heard how her son, Matthew, had died by suicide in January 2023. 

It was after he had been involved in a fatal road traffic collision involving a pedestrian. 

The police later cleared him of any wrongdoing but not before he died on January 16, less than two weeks after the incident and around a week after his birthday. 

Norfolk Coroner’s Court, based at County Hall in Norwich, was told that Mrs Morris, 76, had been struggling with depression for almost a year following his death. 

She was discovered by Duncan Morris, her husband of 54 years, in their garage at home and died there with him holding her hand on December 23. 

Mr Morris, a retired long-serving police officer, said: “The death of our son hit her like a sledgehammer. 

“The two of them were very close and she was grief-stricken all year. 

“Sometimes that turned into depression, which would last [a few] days, then she would come out of it. 

“What happened surprised me so much because she always managed to fight through these bad times. 

“I think what she did was spur of the moment.” 

The court heard how Mrs Morris had been planning for Christmas by making lists, preparing food, and wrapping presents. She had also been making plans for Boxing Day.

Mrs Morris was a retired school secretary and former Church of England lay reader. The medical cause of death was given as “fatal pressure on neck”. 

Concluding, area coroner Yvonne Blake, said: “Mrs Morris took her own life, but it appears to have been an impulsive act and there was no evidence of intent.” 

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