A decorated Royal Navy sailor and Afghan war hero committed suicide because he ‘couldn’t get past’ losing his ‘dream home’ after complaining about a low fence and the developer then refusing to sell it to him, a court has said. research heard.
Petty Officer Rob Minshull was furious after a £375,000 property in Cornwall was taken off the market when he questioned the 4ft fence, which was 2ft lower than other properties on the development.
Mr Minshull and his wife Kerry were concerned that people at a nearby Tesco store in Helston might see their two young daughters playing in the paddling pool in the garden, so they lodged a complaint.
Within days, the developer refused to sell them the property, taking it off the market only to buy it back for £75,000 shortly afterwards. David Martin, of Graceloft Ltd, told his local newspaper at the time: ‘I raised the price to sell it again, but that’s just business. I don’t feel like I’ve done anything wrong.’
His wife Kerry told this to her husband’s inquest in Truro week that Rob ‘couldn’t get around the fact that we lost the house’. The failure of the home purchase in 2021 caused him to fall further depression spiral, including about rising mortgage rates and the cost of living crisis.
Ms Minshull told coroner Emma Hillson: ‘This had a huge effect on Rob. He started drinking more and he couldn’t get past the way we lost the house.” The pair had spent £10,000 on fees, legal fees and even furniture when the sale collapsed.
Rob and Kerry Minshull lost their dream home to a fence and the veteran sailor never recovered from the stress, a court inquest has found
A developer refused to sell Rob and Kerry Minshull their ‘forever home’ in Helston, Cornwall, when they complained that the four-foot fence was too low. He would later commit suicide
The couple were concerned that the lower fence at the four-bed new build would allow people from a nearby Tesco to watch their two young daughters play in the paddling pool in the garden. The developer took it off the market for £375,000 and put it back on the market for £75,000. He said at the time it was “just business.”
In December 2021, the 42-year-old and his wife and two daughters later moved to another property in Helston, Cornwall, but deemed it ‘second best’.
Kerry told the coroner: ‘Rob was life and soul, everyone loved him. He was a brilliant husband and father and would do anything for anyone.’
Kerry had previously said the family had spent thousands of pounds on fees and goods for the new four-bedroom house. They had also paid for custom wardrobes and blinds.
She said in 2021, “It just completely broke my family. I would never want this to happen to anyone.’
Rob lost his sleep and his appetite and drank more alcohol as a result of losing the house. One morning in October 2022, Kerry found Rob hanged in the garage of that house.
An inquest in Truro, Cornwall heard that Rob suffered from other stresses as well.
The aircraft engineer, who had joined the Royal Navy aged 17 and spent 25 years on ships including HMS Illustrious and served in Afghanistan in 2009-2010, was offered a promotion to Chief Petty Officer which he did not want.
Worried about his children and the rising cost of living and mortgage interest, he told his assistant wife about recent suicide attempts.
He had been prescribed antidepressants by Navy doctors, but he feared, wrongly, that he would be medically discharged from senior service – so he stopped taking them and was allowed to take back his responsible job in the aircraft industry.
On the night he killed himself, he had told Kerry he loved her, which she reciprocated and he went back to bed. But at four in the morning Kerry woke up and Rob wasn’t in bed – and she found him in the garage.
After losing the house, Mr Minshull is also increasingly worried about rising interest rates and the cost of living crisis
Rob, pictured with his wife and children, had been prescribed antidepressants by Navy doctors, but he feared, wrongly, that he would be medically discharged from senior service – so he stopped.
Captain Stuart Irwin, commanding officer of the Royal Naval Air Station in Culdrose, Cornwall, where Rob was stationed for most of his career, told the Inquiry that an investigation had been launched.
He said most people referred to the agency’s medical board have not been discharged from the Navy, but their perceptions of that may be different.
He said close friends and colleagues in Rob’s small unit saw no change in his behavior and were shocked by his death.
He said he had talked about the failed house purchase and the rising cost of living, but said of his comrades “none of them saw it coming.”
She said the house problem had a huge impact on Rob, whose sleep and eating were severely affected and he was drinking more. She said his wife Kerry encouraged him to get help — and overheard him on the phone with the Samaritans six weeks before his death — but he refused.
Assistant coroner Emma Hillson recorded a suicide conclusion.
The family spoke to the press when the sale of the house collapsed.
Ms Minshull said she sent a polite email to the builder stating: ‘I’m sorry to bother you, we’ve been to look at the property, we really weren’t happy with the fence.’
Mr and Mrs Minshull spent thousands of pounds on lawyer’s fees, mortgage costs and bespoke wardrobes and blinds when it fell through
In an email conversation between Mr and Mrs Minshull and the site manager, the couple claimed they were told not to worry.
But within days, the brokerage firm handling the exchange reportedly contacted them to say that David Martin, of Graceloft Ltd, had taken the property off the market. The couple claim it was subsequently put back on the market for £75,000 more.
Mr Martin told Falmouth Packet at the time: ‘All I can say is we’ve already built 20 houses on that site, we didn’t have any problem with it and also about eight or nine have been pre-sold and we’ve had no problems with them.
“It’s gone up in price quite a bit, but so have some of the others out there, but the deals have continued, these things are happening in this day and age.
‘More than 20 houses have already been sold on the site that we had no difference with, we have really satisfied customers and the properties above are selling well.
And yes, the property has increased in value considerably. When I pulled out, I raised the price to sell it again, but that’s just business. I don’t feel like I’ve done anything wrong and that’s all I can say.’
MailOnline has attempted to reach Mr. Martin for comment.
In a statement to the newspaper, Olivers Estate Agents, who dealt with the property, said: ‘It was an unfortunate affair on both sides, we can empathize with both sides of the coin.
“We followed our instructions, as do all our suppliers.
‘I spoke to them earlier that day to inform them that our seller no longer wished to sell the property to them, for reasons between our seller and Mr and Mrs Minshull, and that was followed up with a confirmation email.’
- For anyone who needs help, Samaritans can be reached free of charge on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.