For some, the feelings of pain, sadness, and hopelessness become so much of a burden that the thought of living another day is too much to bear.
When a 31-year-old man from England reached that point, he needed someone who could help him see that life is worth living. Instead, he found another woman who claimed she knew exactly how he felt. When she changed her mind, however, she was also committing a crime…
The 911 Call
On the afternoon of December 17, 2015, a UK man called the police and frantically explained that he believed his girlfriend was suicidal. According to the man, he received a message from his girlfriend detailing her plans to end her own life.
Tracking Her Down
Police officers were immediately sent to find the suicidal woman, who was in her early 40s, and managed to track her down within an hour at a hotel near Rutland Water, a water reservoir less than 3 hours north of London, which is where she had planned to end her life…
A Change Of Heart
When police found her, however, she explained she had changed her mind at the last minute. When the police were satisfied that the woman wasn’t suicidal and wasn’t at risk of harming herself, they brought her to her home in Cambridgeshire and gave her resources to get help.
The Other Person
However, while the police were at her home, the woman explained that she hadn’t been alone when she tried to kill herself. According to the woman, there was another person that was at risk so the police rushed back to the reservoir…
A Tragic Discovery
At 6:38 that evening, police found 31-year-old Matthew Birkinshaw’s body in his Fiat Punto. He had taped a note to the car warning, “Do not enter, toxic fumes.” The doors were also locked, so police had to break the windows open with a baton.
Too Late
Tragically, they were too late. First responders tried to revive Matthew but he couldn’t be saved. By 7:24 that night, the 31-year-old postman was pronounced dead after suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. Officers immediately opened an investigation and started by asking Natasha Gordon some questions about her involvement…
The Plan
While at the scene, Gordon gave police a statement that she had planned to commit suicide along with Matthew. However, when she changed her mind at the last minute and backed out, Matthew “asked her not to change his mind,” gave her £60 to get home, and locked the car doors.
The Online Forum
During the investigation, detectives found the online messages between Matthew and Gordon when they made the suicide pact. According to the police, it all started when Matthew posted on an online site looking for a suicide partner…
Looking For A Partner
Gordon had been using several online suicide forums since she made a real attempt to end her life about a year before. About 5 hours after Matthew posted on the forum, Gordon saw the post and responded to it claiming she too was looking for a suicide partner.
An Hour Later
Within an hour, the pair had made a suicide pact and were making plans to meet and kill themselves the following day. “I really can’t wait to go tomorrow — hope you don’t change your mind,” Gordon said in a message to Matthew…
Carrying Out The Plan
That night, the 31-year-old postman drove overnight from his home in Walsall, West Midlands, to pick Gordon up from her home in Cambridgeshire. From there, the pair traveled to Rutland Water, which is where they decided to carry out the last part of their plan.
Backing Out
According to police, Gordon, a former model and pole dancer, was encouraging Matthew to end his life with her and pressuring him to not back out of their pact. However, at the last second, Gordon was the 1 to change her mind…
Something Doesn’t Add Up
At first, it appeared like Gordon simply had a change of heart, however, police couldn’t understand why she hadn’t warned the police about what was happening about 500 yards away when they tracked her down earlier that day.
The Other Messages
However, when police started looking into Gordon’s online activity even further, they found she had encouraged at least 6 other people to commit suicide. Then, just minutes after Matthew was found, Gordon was caught making plans and encouraging even more suicidal strangers. Officers instantly got the feeling that something more tragic was going on…
The Arrest
Police arrested Gordon for encouraging Matthew to kill himself. “I only tried to help him,” Gordon said as police arrested her that same night. During her trial, the 44-year-old claimed she tried to talk Matthew out of it as well, but then he ‘locked the door.’
The Trial Begins
“I tapped on the window but he wouldn’t look at me. He leaned back and closed his eyes. I walked off and I looked back. Then the police phoned me and I answered it,” Gordon said during her trial, which started on November 22, 2017…
A Devastated Family
“It’s impossible to put into words the effect the loss of Matthew has had on our family. He was everything to us and has left a space no one else can ever fill,” Margaret Birkinshaw said about her son during the trial. “Matt was 31 when he died just one week before Christmas. His last words to me were: ‘Give me a hug mum, I’ll be back tomorrow.’”
A Tragic Misfortune
“I’ve asked myself a million times over the past two years: why didn’t I ring him? Would it have made a difference if he’d heard my voice? He was a man full of fun, laughter, love, and intelligence, with everything to live for but with a sensitivity which sometimes made life difficult for him, and the misfortune to meet with someone who wanted to do him harm when he most needed kindness and support…”
The Judge’s Decision
While the court recognized Gordon had seriously tried to kill herself in the past, Judge Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb QC determined that Gordon misled Matthew as she was not entirely serious about the suicide pact. “I have concluded however that you did not have a settled desire to commit suicide yourself when you were in contact with him. You were gripped by self-centeredness and wanted to accompany someone else,” Cheema-Grubb said.
The Sentence
“This is a serious case as Mr. Birkinshaw actually took his own life after this encouragement and I find that you misled him into believing that you were firmly intent on committing suicide with him even though you were not fully committed. You even introduced him to the method that he used and advised him on how it was to be deployed,” Cheema Grubb said. After, a jury ruled that Gordon was guilty and she was sentenced to 4 years in prison.
Woman Thrown In Jail After She Backed Out Of Plan To End Her Own Life is an article from: LifeDaily