Letter found in 'suicide pact' Wolverhampton couple's car
A note was discovered inside the car of a couple who killed themselves in an apparent suicide pact and copies of their wills were also found in the boat where they lived, an inquest heard.
Cheyevette Cooke and her husband David were discovered in their car near a Wolverhampton golf course by a passer-by.
It later emerged they faced serious sex offence charges.
An inquest into their deaths opened at Sandwell Coroner's Court on Tuesday, where it was revealed a post-mortem showed they both died from 'compression of the neck'.
Mrs Cooke, aged 46 and 41-year-old Mr Cooke, were found in a Honda Civic which was parked in a car park off Cat and Kittens Lane in Bushbury on March 9.
Detective Constable Neil Gill, speaking at the inquest, said a letter written by Mr Cooke, who was a gas engineer, was left at the boat yard for manager Peter Haines, who alerted police at 8.51am. The Cookes lived on a boat in a marina known as Napton Narrowboats off in Oxley Moor Road, Pendeford.
A further call was made at 12.29pm by a member of the public, who spotted the Honda Civic in Cat and Kittens Lane, with the boot open, in what they believed to be 'two people dead inside.'
"A letter written by David Cooke was retrieved from the boat, along with copies of their will, which were made earlier this year and a 'funeral folder'. Another letter was also found in the car," he added.
Mr Cooke faced 12 charges allegedly committed on various dates between July 2002 and May 2013. They included allegations of rape, sexual assault and other serious sexual offences.
Mrs Cooke, an administrator by trade, was accused of two offences allegedly committed on various dates from July 2002 to June 2009. One was of assault while the other charge involved a serious sexual offence.
A hearing at Cannock Magistrates Court on March 9 was adjourned for 'non standard reasons', when the pair failed to appear and the matter was adjourned until March 16.
Initially a warrant was issued for their arrest but that was withdrawn later that day after the solicitor waiting at court to represent the pair got a message from his office that a police officer had phoned to say the couple had been in involved in an 'incident'.
The solicitor then tried to call the police officer back, finally making contact after lunch. He was told the pair had been found dead in a car and passed the news on to the magistrates, who cancelled the warrant.
The inquest was adjourned for a full hearing to take place on April 29.
