Hanged man had stabbed girlfriend

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/5360888.stm

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A County Tyrone man hanged himself after stabbing his girlfriend and holding a knife to her throat, an inquest has heard.

William McCrossan, 34, of Mount Sion in Strabane, was found at his partner's home in the town on 12 September 2004.

His partner, Cheryl Logue, told the Coroner's Court he attacked her at her home after she spoke to another man in a bar where they had been drinking.

The coroner said "he had been depressed for some time", finding it was suicide.

Ms Logue, 36, had told the coroner's court, sitting in Strabane, that her fingers were cut during the attack and she suffered a stab wound to her thigh.

There had been suicidal tendencies for months, but he had refused help from anyone Cheryl Logue "He had a knife in his hand and he held it to my throat. I found it hard to breathe as he was suffocating me," she said.

"He then said, 'This is the night to die'."

When she got back home from hospital, she found Mr McCrossan suspended from a rope.

Serious attacks

Ms Logue said her partner had seriously attacked her a number of times before the stabbing.

She said that on the night of the incident, when she had been talking to another man, Mr McCrossan had a "psychotic" look on his face.

She said she had been concerned about his mental well-being for some time.

"There had been suicidal tendencies for months, but he had refused help from anyone," she said.

"Two weeks before (the incident) he came to my house and said... he was going to throw himself in the river."

Deputy Coroner Suzanne Anderson said the deceased "died by his own act".

"Following a physical assault on his girlfriend in the early hours, he was left alone... while his girlfriend attended hospital.

"When she returned to her house, she found him hanging."