Chef jumped in front of ex-fiancée's car
A young Dorset chef lured his ex-fianc‚e to a meeting by text message and then killed himself by jumping under the wheels of her car as she drove there, an inquest heard last week.
Martin Gowan, 21, was a civilian chef at the Blandford Army Camp. He had an NVQ in catering and had worked as a chef since leaving school at 16.
Rock music fan Gowan had been left 10 days earlier by his partner Daniella Boyle after he got drunk on the anniversary of the suicide of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain.
On 18 April, he sent a text message arranging for his former lover to collect her belongings from his flat in Blandford.
Witnesses saw him hiding at the side of a road called Black Lane in Blandford until the car drew level. Then he threw himself in front of it and was catapulted into the air.
Boyle told the hearing in Dorchester that her fianc‚ had smashed a mirror over his head when she ended their relationship and threatened to cut his wrists with the glass.
She said her sister had spotted him hiding at the side of Black Lane as the two drove to his flat. "He had this look on his face. He took his hat off and dropped his bag and started running," she told the inquest. "I braked really hard. I thought he was trying to flag me down."
Gowan died in Southampton General Hospital from head injuries. A verdict of suicide was returned.
by Ben Denman
