Wife tortured during house siege

The house in Haskells Road was under armed siege for four days

A man kept his estranged wife hostage and tortured her before killing himself with a shotgun, an inquest has heard.

Paul Green, 44, from Yeovil, Somerset, burst into the home of his wife Natasha, 27, and children in Haskells Road in Poole, Dorset, in May 2004.

Mrs Green told the court how he hit her with a gun, burnt her with a cigarette, and threatened to kill her. She escaped after two hours when he fell asleep.

The house was under siege for four days until Mr Green, 44, shot himself.

His wife told the inquest at Bournemouth Coroner's Court how the break down in the couple's five-year-marriage had been caused by Mr Green's violent behaviour and his addiction to drugs and alcohol.

She said he had become desperate to see his children and in the early hours of 2 May last year he forced his way into his wife's house, and immediately started to assault her.

He only stopped to usher out four young children that were in the house, among them the couple's one-year-old daughter, the inquest heard.

The children ran to a neighbour saying: "He's killing our mummy."

Wrote in blood

Mr Green had become convinced his wife was having an affair and demanded she tell him where her boyfriend was.

He said: "You've got three seconds to tell me where your boyfriend is. Which leg do you want off first, your left or your right?"

He added: "I'm going to torture and terrorise you for three days because that's how long the police will take to get here."

Mrs Green said she tried to write "help" in her own blood in the window, but was pulled back by Mr Green and hit again.

And the end of the siege, four days later, Mr Green shot himself in the chest.

The coroner is expected to return a verdict tomorrow.