Haverhill: Father-of-two with bipolar died by suicide

On Monday, June 6, Jayan Karumathil, 49, died from severe head trauma following a fall from a bridge in the Hamlet Road area of Haverhill.

Police responded to a report just after 8pm of Mr Karumathil sat on a high wall that crosses Ehringshausen Way in the town.

Mr Karumathil left the scene after contact with the police, but another call was received by Suffolk police at 9.30pm saying he had suffered serious injuries and later died.

Assistant coroner Dan Sharpstone read a statement from his wife at Suffolk Coroners' Court which described him as an "active and energetic" man who was "always very calm and supportive to his family and friends".

Mr Karumathil worked as a chef in India and came to the UK to run an IT business in 2006.

The court heard that Mr Karumathil became depressed after his sister's death as a result of ovarian cancer in 2015.

Previously a religious man, his wife said "he'd never believe in God after her death".

In 2019, Mr Karumathil was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was recommended medication of which he was suspicious.

Dr Albert Michael, a consultant psychiatrist for Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, detailed how Mr Karumathil became convinced that he believed he was the Google chief executive and later claimed that hospital staff were trying to poison him.

He was detained under section two of the Mental Health Act multiple times and treated at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds.

At the inquest, Mr Karumathil's wife asked why she hadn't been called after her husband's first contact with police, saying: "If I'd had that single phone call, I could still have Jayan."

The assistant coroner revisited a police statement which said he was sitting inwards, gave a 'thumbs up' to several witnesses and made a "reasonable comment" about looking at cars.

Saying there was "clearly a background of significant mental illness," Mr Karumathil's case was ruled as death by suicide by Mr Sharpstone.