Fugitive pair 'starved' on yacht

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A fugitive British couple found dead on board a stolen yacht off the coast of Africa probably starved to death, an inquest in Truro has heard.

Sharon Arthurs-Chegini, 46, from Falmouth, and 49-year-old Peter Clarke, from Penryn, were wanted by police following the theft of a yacht in 2005.

Their emaciated bodies were found on a yacht in 2006 with no provisions or fresh water on board.

Cornwall Coroner Dr Emma Carlyon recorded an open verdict.

The inquest heard they had been dead for some time when fishermen found the boat, stolen from Portugal, 12 miles off the coast of Senegal.

The yacht could have been drifting "for several months".

'Fantasy world'

Forensic pathologists giving evidence at the inquest said it was not possible to ascertain how the couple died as the bodies were so badly decomposed.

However they said there was no evidence of injury, contradicting initial reports the couple may have been attacked by pirates.

Dr Carlyon said a diary entry suggested they had run out of water and had four weeks without food.

Ms Arthurs-Chegini's diary also revealed they were caught in a storm and the sail was torn.

It read: "We have been bashed about for days.

"Peter is collapsed in bed. I have been unable to get to him.

"I am tired now and the light's going. My heart and love goes out to my daughters and to my immediate family."

Stepdaughter Jade Dunbar said Ms Arthurs-Chegini was an an artist who lived in a "fantasy world", drank champagne, took drugs and lived off benefits and the men she met.

The couple skipped bail after being arrested for theft

The idea of sailing round the world would have appealed to her glamorous tastes, she said.

She had three daughters by two fathers before meeting Mr Clarke and her daughters had been taken into care.

Sylvia Clarke, Mr Clarke's mother, told the hearing her son "lived life to excess".

She said he was involved in petty crime, had served a jail sentence for fraud and his charms had left a string of broken relationships.

"He always seemed to be searching for something but could not find it," Mrs Clarke, from Hull, added.

Det Sgt John Cap, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said the couple were arrested after the yacht was stolen in 2005 but skipped bail.

He told the court there was no evidence of any third party involvement in the deaths and nothing to suggest piracy was involved.

After the inquest, both families declined to comment.