Distraught man living in tent with wife stayed with her dead body for three days

A man who was forced to live in a tent with his wife after becoming homeless during the pandemic stayed with her body for three days after she died, an inquest was told.

Michael Winter and his wife Angela, 56, were living in a campsite in some woods in Burton-on-Trent.

But things took a turn for the worst after the couple had an argument with Angela saying she could no longer cope with living in a tent, Staffordshire Live reports.

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The inquest heard that Michael spent several days at the tent hoping she would return, he then went out to look for her - she was found dead on June 29 in the proximity of a children's play area.

The distraught husband attempted to take his own life and wrapped his wife in a tent so any children playing nearby would not see her body.

He stayed by her side for three days before reporting her death to Burton Police Station.

Throughout those three days he did not eat or drink due to being so distraught.

A hearing was told that Mr Winter was arrested on suspicion of murder, but was later cleared.

Mrs Winter had clonazepam, paracetamol and atolin in her system, which when combined may have led to fatal toxicity, the inquest was told.

Dr Alexander Kolar, who carried out the post-mortem, said: "In her lungs we also found widespread pneumonia. This was possibly independent from the drugs but the drugs [taken] slow the heart rate and breath rate and poses a significant risk of pneumonia.

"It is far more likely that it became a more prolonged death associated with the drugs in her system."

The police were informed that the couple had lost their jobs during the covid pandemic and in March 2021 could no longer pay their rent.