Letter May Shed Light On Death Of Couple Located In Rural Tipperary Home.

The elderly Smith couple [Nicholas (Nick) aged 82 years and Hilary aged 78 years] are believed to have been dead for some 18 months before their bodies, sadly, were discovered in Cloneen, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, in June of last year (2022).

Their discovery lead many to wonder how often anybody had called to the couple’s door to ask after them. However, new information regarding the mysterious deaths of the reclusive couple made public yesterday, may possibly indicate that they were extremely worried about healthcare facilities in Ireland.

The couple, a retired sea captain from England and his wife, remained undiscovered, in their remote rural home in the Cloneen area of Tipperary, for a year and a half, before suspicious neighbours alerted the authorities, having noticed that their car had not been moved for quite some time. When Garda officers arrived at their place of residence, they found the body of Mr Smith in a bedroom, and the body of Mrs Smith in the sitting room. It was clear from the physical state of both corpses that the couple had been deceased for several months.

It has now been revealed that a torn-up letter recovered from a bin in their home may shed new light on their solitary lives here in Ireland, which may have led and their subsequent deaths.

In a torn five page letter, now pieced back together by a handwriting expert from An Garda Síochána; same reveals that the couple were apprehensive regarding health care facilities then available to them.

Their letter claimed sadly that elderly people were “at risk” from physicians and they “should never have set foot in Ireland”.

The torn five page document also detailed the poor physical state of Mrs Smith, prior to her death, stating that she was “weak due to lack of food” and she was writing with “arthritic hands”.

Garda inquiries leave them to believe that Mr and Mrs Smith were last seen alive just a week before Christmas 2020. On December 17th, 2020, the couple collected a prescription from a pharmacy in Callan, Co Kilkenny, some 20km (12mls) away. Investigators have also examined other documents, a mobile phone and a laptop located and removed from the Smith residence, and have so far not found any evidence which suggests that either of the couple were alive later than December 17th, 2020.