Man found wife, 31, dead due to rare condition

A father of two who came home to find his wife had died in her sleep hopes to raise awareness of the rare and “horrendous” condition which took her life without warning.

Dale Lockwood, 33, from Birstall, West Yorkshire, returned from work as a primary school deputy head in October to find his wife Ruby, 31, lifeless in their bed.

He has now raised more than £17,000 for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) after discovering his wife had died from a genetic heart condition.

“If by sharing things and raising money, that makes a difference to one person or one family, that’s enough," he said.

Mr Lockwood said his wife's cause of death was inconclusive following a post-mortem examination and the family cremated her without knowing how she died.

After further testing, he was informed on 6 August that she had suffered sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (Sads), caused by cardiac arrest with no clear cause.

The condition affects around 500 people in the UK every year, according to the BHF.

As it is hereditary, Mr Lockwood said there was a 50% chance his son, four, and daughter, one, could have the condition.

He said the family will be waiting for about eight months for further genetic testing to see if a “faulty gene” can be found in Ruby’s samples, which would then allow their children to be checked.

“As well as losing your wife, the love of your life and the mother of your children, there’s also the worry that it could happen to your children.

“It’s horrendous and it wasn’t expected – Ruby wasn’t poorly, she had no symptoms, it was a total, utter shock out of the blue to the point where you still can’t believe it."

Despite being trained to speak to children about bereavement, Mr Lockwood said telling his son “mummy had died” was the hardest thing he has ever had to do.

The couple met as teenagers before marrying in 2019.

Mr Lockwood said everybody liked his wife "who would light up a room".

“She was a really vivacious character and just so full of life, she was fantastic at her job and she was an amazing mum and wife," he said.

On the day of her death, Ruby had returned home from work as a detective with West Yorkshire Police at 05:00, Mr Lockwood said.

He joined her for "a catch up, a chat and a laugh” before they went about their day.

Her last words to him had been “Love you, daddy".

“I was tortured with thinking ‘could I have done anything’ or ‘could I have saved her’ but not knowing what it is, you don’t have the answers."

Mr Lockwood took part in the Great North Run on Sunday to raise funds for the BHF - the same event his late wife ran in 2015.

"I actually cut up Ruby’s running vest from 2015 and tied it around my wrist for some inspiration," he said.

“Ruby spent her life, a work career, helping people and she was totally selfless."

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