The wife of a 'much-loved' Oldham businessman and father-of-three who took his own life told an inquest that 'the pressure of everything was too much for him'. Dale Harris, 31, died in hospital on January 12 after consuming a fatal dose of his mother's prescription medication. An inquest at Rochdale Coroners' Court heard he had struggled with mental ill-health on and off since 2018.
Mr Harris's wife, Georgia Harris, described him as 'a very loving and fun person' who was 'outgoing' and 'motivated most of the time'. She said he had experienced periods of depression, which he attributed to money pressures, and that he had attended A&E with suicidal thoughts on one occasion. She told the court he had begun a new role at Chadderton Football Club after leaving his previous job as head of commercial at Oldham Athletic, but took a big pay cut, which impacted his mood.
The inquest heard that Mr Harris had been active on trading platform Radex Markets in the weeks before his death. His wife said he had previously built up a significant amount of money on the platform but did not actually receive it, describing it as 'like gambling'. The coroner presented email evidence showing that a request to withdraw £10,000 from his Radex account was rejected on January 8, with a subsequent request for £1,100 also made.
Ms Harris said her husband had seemed 'quite low' in December due to the financial pressure of Christmas, but appeared to have a more positive outlook afterwards and was making plans. The weekend before his death had been ordinary, she said. On the Monday morning, he went for a walk, returned to help with breakfast and the school run, and then said goodbye as usual. In reality, he went to his parents' home, wrote letters to loved ones, made two unsuccessful attempts to take his own life, and then consumed a fatal dose of medication.
The court heard that Mr Harris telephoned his father at around 11.30am and was driven to the Royal Oldham Hospital, where he suffered a cardiac arrest and died at approximately 5.20pm. His mother, Amanda, said: 'We thought he was the best he'd been for a long time, since leaving the football club.' She added that he had ADHD but no formal diagnosis, saying: 'Once he gets an idea there is no shifting him from it.' Assistant coroner Julie Mitchell concluded that Mr Harris took his own life.
