Antidepressant Sertraline taken by Thomas Kingston before suicide flagged ‘40 times by coroners’
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Thomas Kingston, husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor, took his own life in February last year. The antidepressants taken by Thomas Kingston before he killed himself have ben flagged more than 40 times by coroners, it has been found. The 45-year-old husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor took his own life in February last year at his parents’ home in the Cotswolds.
![[Senior coroner for Gloucestershire Katy Skerrett is the latest in to have referenced either citalopram or sertraline in reports.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/10/14/10/drug.jpg)
The financier had been prescribed sertraline, citalopram - both selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - and zopiclone, a sleeping tablet, before his death. Following an inquest into his death, senior coroner for Gloucestershire Katy Skerrett concluded that the financier was “suffering adverse effects” of medication he had recently been prescribed.
In a prevention of future deaths report (PFD), she questioned whether there is adequate communication of the risks of suicide associated with such medication. Ms Skerrett is the latest in a string of coroners to have referenced either citalopram or sertraline in reports. Analysis by The Times found that at least 40 PFD reports mentioned the use of the SSRIs by the deceased person.
One report, issued by Michael Spencer, assistant coroner for East Sussex in May 2023, found that Joshua Asprey, 19, took his own life 18 days after he began taking sertraline in 2021. Mr Spencer found that Mr Asprey’s GP “did not discuss any risk of suicidal ideation associated with commencing or increasing the dose of sertraline” and highlighted that the medicines guidebook “does not identify suicidal ideation as a risk of prescribing sertraline”.
