Braintree car deaths were the result of suicide

AN INQUEST into the deaths of two people found dead in a car in Braintree has concluded that the pair killed themselves.

Joanne Lee, 34, of Great Notley and Stephen Lumb, 35, from Yorkshire, died in September last year from a mixture of poisonous chemicals.

It is thought the pair met via a suicide pact website where Ms Lee had posted messages.

Caroline Beasley-Murrary, HM Coroner for Essex and Thurrock, recorded the verdict at County Hall, Chelmsford on Friday afternoon.

She said the case “demonstrated that although the Internet could be a force for good... it could also be the opposite” and described their deaths as a “worrying trend”.