Mood swings may have led to woman's cyanide death

A Cambridge woman who died from suspected cyanide poisoning suffered depression and mood swings, according to friends and neighbours.

Deborah Fryer, 47, was found dead in her bed by her husband Gavin in March. Last week police announced they would reinvestigate her death.

Fryer had told friends she was the victim of a skydiving accident when her parachute failed to open, and also suffered the bends in a diving accident and needed decompression treatment.

Initially her death was not described as suspicious, but now Cambridge police have said they are looking into the case again after detective Scott McDougall said a conversation with Deborah a week before she died indicated she was happy and had plans for the future.

McDougall asked for an inquest to be deferred and began further investigations. He had had a 25-minute phone call with Deborah, in which she asked for a reference for her husband as they planned to move to Australia. He described her as being "full of enthusiasm for the future".

Detective Inspector Peter Devoy of Hamilton said the re-investigation would focus on clarifying her mental state when she died.

But husband Gavin told the Herald on Sunday the police investigation was "rubbish" and stressful. "It's been stressful like you wouldn't believe. It's just rubbish - it's nothing." But he could not say any more, under strict instructions from his lawyer.

Detective Sergeant Ross Paterson, of Te Awamutu police, said they had not shut the door on the possibility another person was involved. But friends and neighbours of Deborah have dismissed McDougall's assessment of her upbeat mood.

"That doesn't sound like Deborah to me. She had been unhappy for so long. She was in so much pain," said Lorraine Tenant, a friend. Tenant suggested Deborah was a hyperchondriac but was definitely in real constant pain.

Neighbours said she was often seen struggling to walk down the road and was very frail. Another said Deborah was often depressed.

"She may have just been putting on a brave face [to McDougall]. She was a bit of a strange one but she was always very friendly."

Gavin's job, running a business called OCEL, which supplies electronic goods, meant he was often away from home. "She used to phone me up and say she was very lonely," said a neighbour. "If we'd thought she was a happy person with everything to live for, we'd have gone to the police."

Deborah's friends said Gavin told few people about her death. Tenant said she didn't hear until a fortnight later when someone told her in the supermarket.

The Fryers' house is well secured, with high fences and signs warning of guard dogs and saying "no admission without authorisation". Deborah's greatest love was her dogs - she had two airedales for show and once had a champion samoyed.

Last week Mrs Fryer's brother, Peter Langley, told The New Zealand Herald he and his mother, Madge Langley, supported the decision to review the case.

Mrs Langley, 84, said she found it difficult to believe her daughter's death was self-inflicted.