A PEMBROKESHIRE pensioner, living in a remote rural cottage, killed his wife and then took his own life an inquest heard today, Thursday, September 23.

Pembrokeshire Coroner's Court heard that on February 16, 2021, a Royal Mail sorting office worker came across a letter that had 'call 999' written on the envelope.

Inside was a handwritten letter from 81-year-old David Rowland Arnold stating that he had killed his wife, Christina Mary Arnold and intended to take his own life.

Police officers visited the couple's home at Morvil Cottage, Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire and found the body of Mrs Arnold on the sofa and that of Mr Arnold nearby.

Two letters were found at the property. One detailed the couple's personal affairs while the other indicated that Mr Arnold had killed his wife and was intending to commit suicide.

The inquest heard that a thorough police investigation had ruled out the possibility of any third-party involvement in the deaths.

The inquest heard that the Arnolds had married in 1970 and had had four children and six grandchildren.

David suffered from anxiety and Christina, who was said to be a talented pianist and 'very academic' in her youth, from depression, but this was never spoken about.

The couple did not have regular contact with their children and were not close to their own siblings.

They moved to the remote Morvil Cottage in 2013. Their landlord described them as 'private people'; he had only met then a handful of times and he never saw visitors at the property.

Acting senior coroner for Pembrokeshire, Paul Bennett, read out evidence from a post-mortem undertaken by a Home Office pathologist.

This said that there was no evidence of assault or struggle in either case.

"There can be very few cases where the facts of the deaths of the two people involved cause such particular concern," said Mr Bennett.

"For a married couple to have their lives ended in the circumstances describes is a particularly distressing situation.

"For whatever reasons, which we will never be clear about, Mr Arnold took steps on that day to end his wife's life. The manner in which that was undertaken is a distressing one."

He concluded that the death of Christina Mary Arnold was 'as a result of a criminal act' and that 'she died as a consequence of being suffocated'.

In the case of Mr Arnold the coroner returned a conclusion of suicide, saying: "The evidence clearly points to there being active steps taken by him to end his life."

Mr Bennett extended his condolences to Mr and Mrs Arnold's family, who the court heard were not present at today's inquest due to the distressing nature of the evidence.

"I can understand that, in the light of the facts given how very upsetting it is for them to have to hear the circumstances that have led to their parents' death," he said.

"There can be very few occasions where a situation is so stark and tragic."

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