Open verdict on policeman's death

A coroner has recorded an open verdict at the inquest into the death of a West Sussex Police inspector found strangled by a washing line.

Andrew Parr, 42, was discovered by his wife Zoe sitting on a plant pot in their garden in Bognor Regis with the line around his neck on 21 May.

The inquest heard that he and his wife had been having marital problems.

But deputy coroner Martin Milward said he could not be sure the father-of-three had intended to kill himself.

In a statement read on behalf of Mrs Parr, she said the loss of her job of 20 years in March had had a "great effect" on her mental state.

'Popular and valued'

The following month she told her husband of 13 years she no longer loved him and was unhappy.

Mr Milward said: "He [Insp Parr] had never given any indication that he was considering ending his life and he left no suicide note.

"Given all those factors I think it would be wrong for me to be sure that he had any intention."

Following his death, Sussex Police Chief Constable Martin Richards told officers Insp Parr was a "popular and valued member of our team".

He worked in Crawley, Gatwick, Bognor Regis and Brighton, following a transfer from the Metropolitan Police in 1991.

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