A FORMER headteacher who drowned himself in the Thames after being convicted of historical sex offences had already attempted suicide days earlier, an inquest heard yesterday.

David Tuohy, 83, was found dead in the river near Osney Lock, Oxford, on March 24, six days before he was due to be sentenced for his crimes.

The inquest heard he had been released from hospital after he was found unconscious in a field, his wrists slit and having taken an overdose on March 10.

A close friend who attended the hearing at Oxford Coroner’s Court said even Tuohy himself was surprised he had been released on bail after his conviction at Norwich Crown Court on February 11.

The man, who the Oxford Mail decided not to name, said: “We have all asked the question, it seems even he was amazed at being allowed out without being restrained and it makes no sense to me that he was.”

Tuohy, of White House Road, Oxford, was found guilty of 15 sexual offences against boys as young as 10 in the 1970s while he was headmaster at New Eccles Hall School in Norfolk.

It emerged yesterday that Tuohy, who was single, had told his GP that he had been having suicidal thoughts after his trial.

In a statement read to the hearing, Dr Tom Nichols said he called Tuohy at home after he was convicted and said he had thoughts of taking his own life.

Dr Nichols arranged for an urgent assessment under the Mental Health Act, which took place at Tuohy’s home on February 25.

Tuohy demonstrated he had full mental capacity and denied being suicidal, forcing the assessors to agree that he could not be sectioned.

After he attempted to kill himself on March 10, he was assessed but was not deemed to have a mental health disorder.

He was reported missing in the early hours of March 24. The same morning a member of public called police after they found a wrist watch and a pool of blood by a bench near Osney Lock.

A search team found Tuohy’s body at the bottom of the river. He had again cut his wrists but a pathologist later said the cuts were “superficial” and the cause of death was drowning.

Giving a conclusion of suicide, coroner Darren Salter said: “I need to bear in mind the undoubted effect the impending court date and the fact he could expect to receive a prison sentence of some time. Given his age that is something that would have been of great concern I’m sure.”