Death due to Suicide

[Brian E 1]

I hope you won't mind, but for privacy, names omitted.

I have recently found a family member died due to suicide.

Unfortunately no Death Certification record can be found, by any permutations, including that of the name spelt correctly and or incorrectly, from our usual / expected sources, for the death date.

I have found newspaper reports about the death and the subsequent coroners inquest.

It is, as if the registration has not been complied with, in the usual / expected manner.

I wondered if anybody else may have experienced this similarly and would enquire if they might share if / how they found data or was it "lost".

I think I am correct in expecting, that a death, however caused, would be recorded in the usual record system, or, are suicides treated differently.

As you might appreciate, this is a first for me and any information shared, would/ will be gratefully appreciated.

My thanks in advance,

Brian E

[rosie99]

Have you looked at the following year, sometimes the death certificate takes a while to be issued because of the coroners report

[JenB]

I think I am correct in expecting, that a death, however caused, would be recorded in the usual record system, or, are suicides treated differently

A member of my family committed suicide in the 1980's.
The death certificate was issued a couple of days after the inquest, which took place about six weeks after the event, and the death is recorded in the usual way in the GRO index.

[CaroleW]

You don't say when the death occurred?  In modern times the Coroner will issue a temporary death cert after any post mortem but that does not appear in any online records. 

Also - if it was a death after 2021 you won’t find anything online as GRO online only covers deaths to 2021

Also - deaths from 2008 onwards are incomplete on the subscription sites but are available from GRO online

[Jebber]

I have death certificates for five members of my family, these occurred in different branches over a period of fifty plus years  from the 1880s. All were registered in the normal way after inquests.
Suicide being a criminal offence in those days,  the cause of death often included the term “while the balance of mind was disturbed”

[Ayashi]

One of my ancestors apparently attempted suicide in hospital and died subsequently from the prior and subsequent illness/injury. Her death cert recorded it as an accident! Agreed with others that no matter the cause, the death should be recorded normally as with any other death, just potentially delayed in the registration as a result of inquest.

On a side note, I once managed to read through pages and pages of inquests. A lot of people died from suicide, but it was amazing how few of them were found by inquest to have committed suicide. The odd rare one, perhaps where they couldn't find a good enough spin on it, was condemned to unconsecrated ground but the vast majority had a sudden, temporary but alas permanent fit of insanity and thus could not be eternally blamed for their actions.

[AntonyMMM]

I think I am correct in expecting, that a death, however caused, would be recorded in the usual record system, or, are suicides treated differently.

It would be recorded in the death registers in the normal way, and appear in the usual indexes, however it can't be registered until the inquest is concluded which these days can be months ( occasionally years) after the event, so you need to search beyond the date you are expecting.

[garstonite]

an intriguing question - as it is possible - were the Police involved as it may have been a suspicious death ?
So a question for members - please advise me
I was always led to believe that a Post Mortem was  to find out why someone died - but an Autopsy is REQUESTED by the Police in case it may be a crime ??
can someone who knows explain if I am right - if not - what is the difference between a Post Mortem and an Autopsy

[AntonyMMM]

As a police officer for 30 years, I went to a few post mortems, and I remember a very renowned  Home Office pathologist I knew back in the 80s who used to get quite annoyed if anyone used the term "autopsy" which he regarded as an unacceptable Americanism..

He would shout loudly "I only do post-mortem examinations, we're in London, not New York" at anyone who dared mention the term, and invite them to leave (in quite strong language).

These days probably things are a little more relaxed and the terms may have become interchangeable ....it is the same thing (although a PM on a suspected murder victim is far more detailed than a standard exam and can take many hours)