06:20 > Tuesday 9th February 2010
‘Remarkable young man’ went abroad to take his own life
02 August 2007
A MAN with a terminal brain tumour went abroad to take his own life, a coroner decided.
Gary Smith, 34, of Paddocks Close in Stevenage, was diagnosed with a left frontal temporal astrocytoma in 2003, after being referred to a neurologist following a seizure.
An underwater videographer, Mr Smith travelled to Dahab in Egypt where, on March 26 last year, he hired a wet suit and extra weights and told a taxi driver to wait for him.
According to Hertfordshire coroner Edward Thomas, when Mr Smith did not return within three hours, the driver raised the alarm.
Mr Thomas said at an inquest on Tuesday: "Mr Smith had left a rucksack in the taxi and in the rucksack was a note about his hotel keys and saying that he was going to the famous Blue Hole diving area and that it was his intention that he would die."
The only part of Mr Smith to be recovered was an arm which was found much later. It was established as his by DNA analysis and returned to this country.
Summing up, Mr Thomas said: "The actual cause of death is unable to be ascertained. The secondary cause of death was his left frontal temporal astrocytoma because, without that, he would not have died. I'm going to say that he took his own life."
Addressing Mr Smith's mother and stepfather, who wept in court, Mr Thomas said: "The description of him was that he was a very intelligent young man and he was a very active person.
"Not withstanding the serious implications that the tumour had for Gary, he continued to make the best of his life, including going to Thailand and working in what he enjoyed working for.
"He made the best of the situation, for which you must be extremely proud.
"I think that the way he dealt with going abroad, that he was obviously a remarkable young man. I would just like to say that, and how difficult this must have been for you.
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