LONDON – A depressed former property consultant bled to death in his London home after trying to amputate his own legs with a hacksaw, the London Evening Standard reported.
Barrie Hepburn, 65, was confined to a wheelchair after being shot in the legs during an argument with a neighbor at the couple's holiday home in France in 2000.
He tried to commit suicide twice following the incident, and researched self-surgery on the Internet.
Last August he almost completely severed his right leg with a hacksaw in the kitchen of the couple's residence in London's exclusive Mayfair neighborhood, the inquest was told.
Hepburn called paramedics and said he was suffering from heavy bleeding, but died before an ambulance could reach him.
His wife Susan—who runs a high-profile hypnotherapy clinic and counts British singer Lily Allen among her clients—told the Westminster coroner's court that Hepburn's depression lifted in recent years.
The coroner recorded a verdict of misadventure, noting, "I think it is quite clear he had no intention of taking his own life. This was a tragic turn of events."
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