Former barrister shot himself just weeks after wedding

Ben Hinchliffe, 46, had just returned from honeymoon with new wife Emily and had looked through photos from their big day the night before he was found with a gunshot wound in outbuildings on his family’s farm.

Coroner Christopher Dorries heard how Mr Hinchliffe had struggled with drink problems and attended several Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

The 20-minute inquest in Sheffield today heard Mrs Hinchliffe had noticed that her husband was struggling to sleep and losing

interest in cooking which he had previously loved to do.

The coroner said: “Ben had begun to worry about some bills getting piled up.

“He got married and went on honeymoon, taking a break from the AA meetings. It was then that Emily began to notice some changes.

“He always liked to cook but had gone off his food, living off ready meals during the week which was unusual.

“Emily became suspicious of him starting to drink again.”

The court heard the newlyweds had looked at photos from their big day the night before his death on October 18 last year.

The hearing was told that as Mrs Hinchliffe left their house in Penistone, South Yorkshire, on the morning of the incident she picked up on his “quietness and flat speech”.

She later texted her husband to say she would take time off work to help him with the business - that was the last contact she had with him.

PC Andy Whiteley told the inquest that Mrs Hinchliffe began to worry for her husband’s welfare that afternoon when she returned home to find him gone but his phone still on the kitchen table.

Mrs Hinchliffe had got a neighbour to help look for him. He later found his body in an outbuilding.

The PC told the court: “Emily was really worried when she came home and he wasn’t there.

“Above the garage there’s a storage area, and the door was slightly ajar.

“The neighbour could see somebody laid on the floor and realised that it was Ben. At which point he went back to raise the alarm.”

PC Whiteley said: “Police did not treat it as suspicious”, adding that evidence pointed towards his death being a “self-inflicted issue”.

Mr Dorries reached a verdict of suicide, saying: “The evidence shows beyond all reasonable doubt that Mr Hinchliffe took his own life.

“This is a very tragic and sad situation and I offer my condolences to his wife and family.”

Mr Hinchliffe had worked for One Brick Court Chambers in Temple, London between 1993 and 2002, before leaving to run the farm.

Wife Emily and his family did not attend the inquest.