A NORTH-EAST man killed himself shortly after admitting strangling his girlfriend at her home, an inquest heard yesterday.

The hearing into the death of Lesley Anne Elizabeth Petch heard that the man was found hanging in his prison cell before he could stand trial for the killing.

Joseph Watson Boyes had been charged with murdering Miss Petch, who was found dead at her home in Linden Road, West Cornforth, County Durham, in March 1999.

Yesterday, her parents heard how Boyes admitted, during an interview with police, that he had strangled the 20-year-old.

He later signed a note, written by Detective Constable Robbie Roddis, confirming the details of the interview.

Boyes was found hanging in his cell in Holme House Prison, Stockton, two days later.

At the time, his distraught family criticised the fact that he was not on suicide watch.

His aunt, Mary Marshall, of Spennymoor, County Durham, said after his death in 1999: "He should have been on suicide watch. He was not a coward. He was innocent, and really thought so much about Lesley Anne."

Boyes' name was not mentioned during the inquest into Miss Petch, which was heard at Bishop Auckland Magistrates' Court yesterday.

South Durham Coroner Colin Penna told her parents that it was not his job to say who killed their daughter.

He said: "I can only say how Miss Petch died, I cannot say by whom it was done, although the situation is quite obvious from all the circumstances."

Mr Penna apologised for the delay in holding the inquest.

An inquest into the death of Boyes was only heard in November, in Middlesbrough, where it was ruled that the 36-year-old killed himself.

Miss Petch's mother, Margaret, sobbed throughout yesterday's proceedings during which Boyes was referred to only as "the said man".

Her father, Richard, told how his daughter had spoke of an "incident of violence" involving Boyes only two weeks before her death.

Mr Petch confirmed that the couple, who had been together for less than a year, had at first been happy but their relationship had begun to deteriorate rapidly.

Detective Inspector Stuart Robson told Mr Penna that he was satisfied that nobody else was involved in the "suspicious death of Miss Petch" and that police were no longer making inquiries.

Mr Penna ruled that Miss Petch was unlawfully killed.