Tom Hayes paced his kitchen. He walked past the wine refrigerator and around the granite-topped island. Through the window of his seven-bedroom house, he could see the summer sun descending over the English countryside. Then he paced some more.

The 33-year-old former banker had been contemplating suicide for months. He had asked his wife if she and their toddler son would be better off with him dead. He warned her he might jump in front of a train.