Inquest into Belle Greve death concludes

Tuesday 29 January 2019

The inquest into the death of Wanfred Callanan, 37, who died in Guernsey last year, has closed with a verdict of accidental death.

Mr Callanan died in the sea at Belle Greve Bay on April 1 last year, after he jumped from the wall opposite the Foresters Arms.

He had gone to the pub on April 1 after a drunken argument with his partner where he threatened to hurt himself. At the pub, he was said to be his "usual self" telling jokes and talking to everyone in a friendly manner. At 21:40 he got up, left his rucksack and tablet, and whispered to the licensee to "take each day as it comes", before leaving the premises. Drinkers inside the pub saw him walk up to the wall, climb on it, pace for a while, before jumping in just before 22:00.

A number of people rushed outside to help him and the licensee called the emergency services. People were shouting down to try and help Mr Callanan while he was heard calling for help. At some point, people lost sight of him, and then moments later he was seen again face down in the water.

When Guermsey Police arrived on the scene, they had to stop people jumping into the water to help him. It was a spring tide and had been high tide around an hour earlier and the conditions were rough.

Mr Callanan' body was recovered from the water 30 minutes later by a lifeboat crew.

A post mortem examination was carried out and found that Mr Callanan had died of a head injury and drowning, and also from jumping into the sea while intoxicated. The inquest was opened on 13 April 2018 and his body was released to be repatriated to his family in Ireland, but a police investigation into the case only recently closed ahead of the inquest hearing yesterday. 

In 2016, Mr Callanan was diagnosed with alcohol dependancy and he also had a history of depression and anxiety, and was taking medication for those.

Since he first moved to Guernsey in 2005 he had three relationships. At the end of his second relationship, he sent a text message which implied he could have had suicidal thoughts at some times. He sent a similar text message to his partner of the time when he took his life last year. 

Pictured top: Wanfred Callanan.