Husband suspected after wife strangled

A post-mortem examination carried out on the body of Margaret Hoyland, from Sheffield, found that the 65-year-old died from strangulation.

She was found dead by one of her sons, Stephen Hoyland, at the semi-detached family home in Severnside Gardens, Woodhouse, on Sunday.

The body of her husband, Terence Hoyland, 68, was found later the same day, after he plunged from a stairwell in the city's Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

Police believe Mrs Hoyland was killed by her husband, who then killed himself. Officers are now speaking to the couple's three grown-up children, Stephen, Paul and Jackie, to try to get information on their parents' relationship.

The Hoyland's home in Woodhouse remained sealed off and under police guard yesterday as the murder investigation continued.

Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Thompson said: "We are dealing with a murder inquiry – we know that Mrs Hoyland was strangled and that her husband's body was found on the same day after falling down some stairs at the Hallamshire Hospital.

"One hypothesis is that Mr Hoyland may have been responsible for his wife's death.

"Although we are looking at that as a possibility we still have to carry out a full and thorough investigation to establish that nobody else was involved. We are looking into the circumstances of both deaths.

"We have to be certain that nobody else would have had the opportunity to kill Mrs Hoyland."

Yesterday flowers and tributes to the couple were being left outside their home.