Father Sends Last Message To Son Following Child Support Request For Nearly $17,000

Update: This story, originally reported in June 2015, is being republished.

A man tragically ended his life following a demand for nearly $17,000 in overdue child support payments.

Ian Sandywell, aged 45, took his own life after receiving a formal request to pay child support for his son. Prior to his death, Sandywell sent a distressing message to his 22-year-old son, Ben, stating, “Delete me out of your life please. I’m going to hang myself.”

His wife, Jo-ann Balsamo, found him in the garage when she returned home from work later that day. According to reports from the Mirror, Sandywell had called Balsamo around 12:30 p.m. to discuss the child support issue.

“He was very distressed,” Balsamo recounted. “He was crying and worried about the monthly payment amount, which was $800. It was causing him significant stress.”

Balsamo was taken aback by his level of distress, noting that he had previously dealt with similar letters and planned to appeal. However, their conversation ended on a more composed note, with a normal farewell.

The Mirror reported that Sandywell had received notification from the Child Support Agency about back payments owed since November of the previous year.

An inquest into his death uncovered that Sandywell had also reached out to his parents with his worries about the support letter. On the day of his death, he exchanged around 40 text messages with his son, with his final message being, “I’m sorry Ben, I love you,” according to the Daily Mail.

After Balsamo discovered Sandywell, emergency services were summoned but arrived too late to save him. An autopsy revealed that his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit for driving.

Sources: Mirror, Daily Mail