This is a first: the Daily Mail is reporting that an English church warden apparently killed himself by taking a massive overdose of Viagra. According to the investigating coroner, he had taken "hundreds of times" a normal dose, causing extreme hypertension and collapse. He was found fully clothed in his bathtub. This isn't the only Viagra-overdose fatality - a few years ago there was that Russian guy who collapsed and died after having a Viagra-fueled sex marathon with two women. However, this case is unique in that it was clearly intentional. The deceased was despondent over the death of his mother and had spoken to neighbors about wanting to take his life.
What a way to go. The Daily Mail has been taking some flack from readers for publishing other details of the victim's personal life. Besides a large stash of Viagra, investigators found a roomful of sex supplies: a large quantity of condoms, lubricants, disposable gloves, canes and towels. Perhaps it's disrespectful of the dead to disclose such information, but on the other hand, if someone overdoses on Viagra, it seems they were intending to make a statement about their sexuality, and a pretty emphatic one at that.
What's tragic is that this seems like it could have been a desperate cry for help - from someone burdened both by grief and by sexual repression. It's entirely possible that although suicidal, the victim may have thought, in the back of his mind, that Viagra, even in a massive dose, might not be fatal. Sadly, this was not the case.
