Doc: Maloney was troubled
by MARIA BRADSHAW
A PSYCHIATRIST who examined a diary entry believed to have been written by I’Akobi Maloney on the day he died has deduced from his writings that he was “troubled”.
However, Dr. Ermine Belle, senior consultant psychiatrist at the Psychiatric Hospital, said she could not say the 23-year-old, who reportedly leapt off an 80-foot cliff to his death, was suicidal.
Belle, who was deemed an expert witness, made the observation yesterday while giving evidence in the coroner’s inquest into the death of I’Akobi Maloney.
She told the court she had an opportunity to study some of the writings in the diary. “There were some parts of the writings which suggested to me that this individual was dealing with some inner conflict,” she told coroner Faith Marshall-Harris.
Asked by the coroner if the writings suggested some level of depression, Belle stated: “I would prefer to say troubled but not depression, since I did not examine the individual.”
Asked if the tone of the entry was suicidal, she stated: “It is difficult to say. One of the things about persons contemplating suicide is often a sense of relief coming through what they say or do finally before they depart.
“The last two sentences are more in keeping with that than the rest of the document.”
The coroner then queried if it was significant that the entry was made on the day that Maloney died, to which Belle replied: “It would have some significance in that it was a retrospective report - it seems that the person was sorry to have disappointed someone.”
She added there appeared to be a debate about how the person felt about himself.
“There almost seems to be a conversation with oneself; to make peace with oneself. There is a sense of asking for forgiveness. The word ’sorry’ is used and feeling a little bit that maybe things could have been different.”
Marshall-Harris further enquired if the phrase “too late” implied it was a final statement. The psychiatrist said the last two sentences in the entry: “I got all you talking. But I am keeping the silence”, sounded like a triumphant statement.
Under cross examination by attorney-at-law Andrew Pilgrim, the psychiatrist said the entry did not have the tone of the creative writings of a poet.
She said she used the term “troubled” because she did not treat Maloney and if she had, she would have used a medical term. “You are therefore not in a position to make a diagnosis?” asked Pilgrim.
“No,” Belle replied.
The inquest resumes on December 9.
Tags: Andrew Pilgrim, depression, diary, Dr. Ermine Belle, Faith Marshall-Harris, inner conflict, psychiatrist, troubled, writings