An elderly woman took her own life a few days after she was burned following a gas explosion in her kitchen, an inquest in Dublin heard yesterday. The 93-year-old woman was pronounced dead at her home in late 2004.
The inquest heard that some days before her body was discovered, neighbours heard a loud bang on the street where she lived and no one had seen her afterwards.
Alerted by concerned neighbours, gardaí entered her home and found her hanging by a ligature from the banisters. A postmortem found she had sustained extensive superficial burns to the face and hands. Her hair and clothes were also singed.
One neighbour described her as independent and strong-willed.
"She had particular views on life and death . . . She said she never wanted to end up in a nursing home or a hospital," the neighbour told the inquest.
Deputy Dublin city coroner Maria Colport recorded a verdict of death by suicide.
