Ex-barrister commits suicide at family farm only weeks after wedding

Ben Hinchliffe, who left his career in London more than a decade ago to become a farmer, had just returned from honeymoon with new wife, Emily, before he took his own life.

The 46-year-old and his wife had looked through photographs from their wedding day the night before he was found with a gunshot wound in outbuildings at the farm in Penistone in South Yorkshire.

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

The 20-minute inquest which was held in Sheffield yesterday was told how Mrs Hinchliffe had noticed that her husband was struggling to sleep and had lost 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 wedding photos the night before his death on October 18 last year.

The hearing was told that as Mrs Hinchliffe left their house in Penistone, near Barnsley, on the morning of the day that her husband took his own life, 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 - and 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, with his mobile phone still on the kitchen table.

Mrs Hinchliffe had gone to a neighbour to help look for her husband. He later found Mr Hincliffe’s body in the outbuilding at the farm.

The police officer 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 added that police “did not treat it as suspicious”, adding that evidence pointed towards his death being a “self-inflicted issue”.

At the end of the inquest hearing yesterday, Mr Dorries recorded a verdict of suicide.

The coroner added: “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 in London between 1993 and 2002, before taking the decision to change careers and come to Yorkshire to run the farm.

His widow and his family did not attend the inquest yesterday.