AN ELDERLY Wirral woman took a taxi to Liverpool’s Albert Dock to die.Roma McCann, 81, known as Jean to friends, gave away her parrot, pinned a note to the door and told neighbours she was not coming back, before leaving home on January 2 this year. The Prenton woman was found later that day drowned in the tourist spot.
Her friend Kathleen Steven told an inquest that Mrs McCann had lost a bit of her spark in recent weeks.
Mrs Steven, a fellow Jehovah’s Witness, said her friend had asked her to take on the parrot as she was finding it hard to cope.
Mrs McCann took a taxi, telling her driver Tony Carr that she wanted to look at the river. The court heard that some way into the journey, Mr Carr became suspicious.
He said: “I was told she wanted to go to Lime Street so the change alarmed me. I suggested Albert Dock as it is a place where lots of people go. It would be busy, I hoped.”
Mr Carr informed staff of his concerns but a security guard lost sight of Mrs McCann in the crowds.
A note found pinned to her door revealed this was a plan Mrs McCann was determined to carry through.
Speaking afterwards, Pauline Taylor, a relative of Mrs McCann’s late husband, said: “She was a character and was very well known.’’
Verdict: she took her own life.
THE WIRRAL NEWS
