A MAN suspected of organising a CD and DVD piracy business sent a goodbye text message to his estranged wife before he killed himself, an inquest has heard.

Paul Matthew Candler, 33, died on May 7 last year after he took a large quantity of tablets. His estranged wife, Linda Candler, told the hearing he had been talking about suicide for weeks.

He had looked up how to do it on the Internet, despite her trying to talk him out of it.

She said Mr Candler feared being jailed after he was named as the man behind a CD and DVD piracy ring.

Mrs Candler said: "He was adamant he thought he was going to go to prison. He said 'I can't go'."

Mr Candler's body was found at his flat in Roker Avenue, Sunderland, the week he was due to be tried at Newcastle Crown Court.

The inquest was told he suffered from seizures from a cyst in his brain.

At a court hearing in June last year, Shaun Potter, of St Peter's View, also Roker, described as Mr Candler's footsoldier, was given a 12-month suspended jail sentence after he admitted 11 piracy charges.

DVDs, CDs and MP3 CDs worth about £120,000 were found at Potter's home before Christmas 2001.

The court was told Potter, 38, was paid 50p for each copy he made, and they were sold by Mr Candler, trading as Paul Brown Associates.

Sunderland Coroner Derek Winter, recording a verdict of suicide, said he was aware Mr Candler suffered from depression and had made previous attempts to kill himself.