Thompson 'shot himself on phone'

Thompson had talked about killing himself, his widow said

The widow of US writer Hunter S Thompson has said her husband killed himself while they were speaking to one another on the telephone.

Thompson - best-known for his 1972 account of a drug-addled Nevada trip, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - shot himself on Sunday at his Colorado home.

His widow, Anita Thompson, 32, told the Aspen Daily News she heard the "clicking of the gun".

She said: "I was on the phone with him, he set the receiver down and did it."

He wanted to leave on top of his game Anita Thompson, widow

Mrs Thompson said her husband had asked her to come home from a health club so they could work on his weekly column, but instead of saying goodbye, he shot himself.

She added that she heard a loud, muffled noise, but did not know what had happened.

"I was waiting for him to get back on the phone," she said.

Supportive

Thompson, who was a leading political journalist and one of the most important US authors of the 20th century, was found dead by his son, Juan.

The 67-year-old shot himself in the head in the kitchen while his son, daughter-in-law and six-year-old grandson were in the house.

Mrs Thompson told the newspaper her husband had repeatedly talked about killing himself in the months running up to his death.

He had also left verbal and written instructions about what he wanted done with his body, his unpublished works and his assets.

"He wanted to leave on top of his game. I wish I could have been more supportive of his decision," she added.