Family gives harrowing evidence of scientist’s final hours

THE tragic final moments of Dr David Kelly’s life were spelled out in harrowing detail yesterday by those closest to him.

One by one, the scientist's loved ones told a hushed High Court of the dawning realisation that something very terrible had happened to him on the day he went missing.

Although key witnesses such as his wife and daughter could not be seen, their emotional but determined voices filled the inquiry room as, step-by-step, the events of July 17 took shape.

Earlier, each one had spoken of how Dr Kelly was under pressure and exhausted but none could have predicted the devastating conclusion that awaited them.

First to give evidence, via video link, Dr Kelly's widow Janice told of how the day began a little later than normal with the pair waking up around 8.30am.

"He seemed subdued and tired but not depressed," her voice recalled as her photograph filled the many TV screens.

"He never seemed depressed in all of this but was very tired and subdued," she said.

Dr Kelly spent most of what was to be his last morning shut away in his study preparing answers for the MoD for two parliamentary questions.

Mrs Kelly described how he popped out at 11am for a coffee but had little to say and she later tried to cheer him up with photographs she had just collected.

She said her husband told her he had not finished yet but a few moments later went and sat in the sitting room without saying anything.

"That was quite unusual for him," she said.

"He just seemed and looked really very tired and I had started with a huge headache ... I was physically sick several times because he looked so desperate."

She spoke of her husband looking "distracted and dejected".

"I just thought he had a broken heart, he had shrunk into himself, just shrunk, but I had no idea at that stage of what he might do later."

But the day continued, given the circumstances, in a relatively normal fashion Mrs Kelly went for a lie-down and her husband was about to go out for his usual walk to help his bad back.

"Shortly after I had lain down, he came to ask me if I was okay and I said 'Yes, I will be fine'."

He went to change his clothes for his walk but this was only around 1.45pm and he was delayed by phone calls.

It was not until around 3.20pm that he set off and Mrs Kelly was still feeling ill.

When he was not back within 25 minutes the usual short walk Mrs Kelly said: "I began to get rather worried."

Her fears were initially allayed in a phone call to her daughter, Rachel, but as the evening went on, her anguish grew.

"I was in a terrible state myself at this time, trying not to think awful things and trying to take each moment as it came."

Family members began to arrive and search the area but the police were not contacted until 11.40pm, because of a fear of making the situation worse.

In giving her evidence, Rachel Kelly's voice betrayed her obvious emotion and devastation.

As she was out searching, she said: "It occurred to me for the first time that dad might not be coming home.

"I thought about looking in the barns but I didn't because I was too nervous.

"I drove back up the hill, by which time I was really quite upset."

When the police were called, Mrs Kelly said, "it seemed to immediately go up to chief constable level".

Helicopters and tracker dogs led the search and communications masts sprang up but it was not until the next morning that his body was found.

The knife Dr Kelly used was the Boy Scout knife he had owned since childhood.

The drugs found with him were his wife's Co-proxamol, for her arthritis, which he had obviously taken from her supplies.

Dr Kelly's sister, Sarah Pape, had always maintained her brother would be found safe and well and even when she was asked to call her husband she assumed it was to say the press had named him.

"In fact, when I rang him, he told me that the police had found my brother's body and it looked as though he had committed suicide," she said, choking back tears.