Man strangled ex-lover then committed suicide
A MAN with Lutterworth connections who murdered a woman he met on the internet committed suicide hours afterwards, an inquest was told.
George Appleton strangled his former lover and then set her body on fire.
Murder detectives began a nationwide manhunt for Appleton (40) after they discovered the badly-burned body of Clare Wood (36) at a home in Salford, Manchester, in February this year.
Lutterworth was one of the locations detectives launched appeals in, as Appleton had relatives in the area and had links to the town’s travelling showmen community.
He had also stayed in the town on a number of occasions, although he had never lived in Lutterworth permanently.
His family owns a number of plots at the Fairacres Travelling Showmen’s site off Coventry Road.
At the time of the manhunt, detectives warned women that Appleton was known to use social networking websites like Facebook and internet dating sites, and they published a list of his known user names.
His inquest, held at Bolton Coroner’s Court last Wednesday, was told that Miss Wood’s body was found at her home on February 6 this year.
She had been strangled and her body burned on her bed, although cigarettes had been placed around the bed to make it look like an accident.
Search teams found Appleton’s body five days later in an abandoned pub in Salford, less than a mile from the murder scene.
He had hanged himself from a door frame.
A pathologist told the inquest that Appleton had died on the same day as his victim.
The inquest was also told that a week before her death, Miss Wood had made an allegation of attempted rape against Appleton, and he had also been given a harassment order after he smashed down her front door.
In the days leading up to the murder, the inquest heard that Appleton had confided to friends that he was scared of being sent to prison because of the attempted rape allegation.
Coroner Jennifer Leeming recorded a verdict of suicide.
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Monday 21 May 2012
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