Suicide horror of handyman haunted by his wife's kiss with his boss

Alison Corin told her husband William that the incident was "just a kiss", but he remained tormented by suspicions that she and holiday park owner Andrew Baragwanath were having an affair.

The couple tried to mend their relationship. But Mr Corin's family say he spiralled into despair and could not cope with the hold Mr Baragwanath had over his life.

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Shortly before his death, the 46-year-old handyman wrote his 39-year-old wife a farewell text message. But she thought he was "messing about" - until she discovered his body hanging from the roof of his workshop.

His death came six weeks after Mr Baragwanath, 49, and his wife Kerry invited their employees to a party at their house in North Cornwall.

During the evening, Mrs Baragwanath walked into her bedroom to see her husband in an embrace with Mrs Corin on the bed.

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Mr Baragwanath told the inquest: "Kerry and I were having a get-together at our house. I went into my room and lay on the bed.

"The next thing I remember, Alison was on the bed and we were kissing. Kerry saw us and stormed off.

"I put my shoes on, and thought, 'What happened?' It was an isolated incident which I can't explain.

"I heard Kerry tell Alison, 'Leave, or I'll have to tell Will'."

Mrs Corin later confessed to her husband.

Mr Baragwanath, who runs two holiday parks near St Ives, said: "When Will found out, he attacked me, continuing to punch me. I was bruised and had a cut to the left side of my face.

"Later, he said he wanted to talk. I told him it was just a kiss."

But the incident lingered in the mind of Mr Corin, who was in charge of maintenance on Mr Baragwanath's land.

In a police statement Mrs Corin, who managed a farmhouse at one of the caravan parks, said: "We started having arguments. I can't explain why I kissed Andrew - there was no affair."

At the beginning of June, the couple discussed their problems and considered splitting up.

They spent the night in separate bedrooms. but Mrs Corin said she woke in the middle of the night and went to the spare room to give her husband a hug.

Discovering he was not there, she found the text message. It read: "You are so wrong. I love you more than anything. Goodbye."

Fighting back tears, Mrs Corin told the Truro inquest: "I thought he was just messing about, and texted him back.

"I thought he must be in his garage asleep. I went in and saw Will was just hanging there from a beam in the roof."

Mr Baragwanath, a father of six, said: "On the morning he died, I was awoken by the phone.

"It was Alison - she was hysterical. She told me that Will had committed suicide. I drove to the farm, where I saw Alison sitting on the step, crying. We entered the shed and saw him hanging."

Cornwall coroner Dr Emma Carlyon recorded a verdict of suicide.

Yesterday Mr Corin's family described how he was tormented by the breakdown of his marriage.

His brother Tim Corin, a 49-year-old builder, said: "He thought something had been going on for a while.

"He was a genuinely nice, caring bloke. He was too caring - that is what led to this tragedy in my eyes.

"The night before he died, I spoke to Will and he seemed all right - but he kept saying, 'They won't be able to get out of this one'."

He added: "I believe that you reap what you sow, and I hope Alison and Andrew appreciate what they've done."

The Corins lived with their 12-year-old son Harry in a farmhouse in the grounds of one of Mr Baragwanath's caravan sites.

Mrs Corin had previously worked at the Tregenna Castle Hotel in St Ives, where she first met Mr Baragwanath and his wife.

Her husband had two other sons from a previous marriage, 21-year-old Jake and 18-year-old Joe.

Tim Corin said: "He felt trapped and suffocated by how much of his life was entwined with Baragwanath's.

"He, Alison and their boy lived in Andrew's house, drove a car belonging to him and both worked for him. He said he felt like he wasn't running his own life anymore."

Mr Baragwanath declined to comment last night.