REALITY TV
TV
MOVIES
MUSIC
CELEBRITY
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Accuracy & Fairness Corrections & Clarifications Ethics Code Your Ad Choices
© MEAWW All rights reserved
MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

Inseparable identical twins, 52, facing financial trouble hang themselves from tree after being taken off benefits

Neil and Paul Micklewright were found in a park in Greater Manchester after they committed suicide with just 'a few pounds left in their bank accounts'
UPDATED DEC 3, 2019

Two identical twin brothers who "relied on each other most of the time" were found hanging from a tree in an apparent double suicide pact. They were recently taken off benefits after inherting $51,700 following their mother's death but ran out of money fairly soon.

The bodies of Neil and Paul Micklewright were discovered by a dog walker on the morning of July 31, 2018, at a park in Greater Manchester, according to reports.

Assistant coroner Jason Wells found notes in their pockets and described them as "essentially identical." The twins, 52, described as "gentle, kind, and generous" had spent their entire lives in Urmston, where they lived together, the Stockport coroners court inquest heard. Their parents Ron and Joan lived with them before their deaths in 1990 and 2014 respectively.

The twins, 52, described as "gentle, kind, and generous" had spent their entire lives in Urmston, where they lived together, the Stockport coroners court inquest heard. (Pexels)

The twins, who were fervent fans of the Manchester City football club, were described as "introverted" by their sister Julie Gillaspy. According to her, they "relied on each other most of the time." She added, "They were very close, sometimes to the exclusion of others."

The brothers had suffered financial troubles in the months leading up to their deaths, the inquest heard. But after receiving a sizeable £40,000 ($51,700) inheritance following the death of their mother, both Neil and Paul had their benefits stopped. After working on and off at a warehouse through occasional agency shifts, they had just a few pounds left in their bank accounts at the time of their death.

According to Gillaspy, the brothers were "too proud" to go back on benefits. While she "struggled to understand why this had happened", she believes their financial troubles may have played a major role in their decision to commit suicide. "I think they struggled socially and I think it all just got on top of them. They were very proud people who perhaps weren't dealt the best hand in life," she added.

Sister Julie Gillaspy believes their financial troubles may have played a major role in their decision to commit suicide. (iStock)

When officers searched the brothers' residence, they found everything left in perfect order, Coroner's Officer David Wood told the inquest. In a surreal discovery, authorities found the fridge and freezer emptied and defrosted, financial documents organized in folders, clothes packed away in plastic bags, and the fish tank emptied and cleaned.

Furthermore, batteries had been removed from smoke alarms, all electrical appliances had been switched off, and the beds stripped down. Longer versions of the notes found on the brothers' respective persons were "neatly laid out" on a table. "They offer no explanation, simply that they had had enough," as described by assistant coroner Jason Wells.

While a post-mortem exam gave the brothers' cause of death to be hanging, they "appeared to be a well-planned event", Wells said. "All suicides are tragic but the death of two brothers in these circumstances is particularly tragic," he added.

POPULAR ON MEAWW
MORE ON MEAWW