A retired farmer took his own life the day he changed his will, a coroner has concluded despite the concerns of his son and daughter.

John ‘Charlie’ Barnett’s body was discovered in a slurry pit by employee and carer Nigel Byrne on January 2, 2020.

Just hours earlier, he had changed his will so that Mr Byrne would only receive £20,000 in cash – originally he had been due to inherit £2 million from the farm assets.

Mr Byrne has always denied any wrongdoing at Hully Farm in Whitchurch, Shropshire, but Charlie’s two children suspected there may have been foul play.

Initially senior coroner John Gittins believed that unlawful killing may have been a possibility, but has now concluded that he died by suicide.

During the inquest, daughter Jennifer Parry-Jones said: ‘I don’t want to think it but there was only one person there, Nigel Byrne.’

She stressed that part of the reason she believed this was alleged inconsistencies in Mr Byrne’s account.

Her brother Robert said: ‘It’s a horrible thing to have to believe but we know that there was one horrible incident of where he abused and threatened dad.’

But Mr Byrne denied the allegations, saying he and his employer never even argued. He said: ‘It was always banter between us back and to.’

Pathologist Dr Jonathan Medcalf said that, while there was some bruising, ‘there were no overtly suspicious injuries identified such as to suggest a violent assault or potential dragging of the body’.

Coroner Mr Gittins told the hearing there was no evidence that Mr Byrne, Mr Barnett’s family, or any other third party had played a part in the death of John Charles Barnett.

He said he found the time window provided by Mr Byrne and the police’s investigation to be ‘entirely credible’.

He also found that Mr Byrne’s concern, consideration and love of Charlie had led him to put himself at considerable risk to find him.

After reviewing the evidence, including post mortem findings which ‘could not find any evidence to conclude any violence or acts of force undertaken against Mr Barnett’, Mr Gittins ruled out a conclusion of unlawful killing.

He went on to say that, while not recent, Mr Barnett had previously expressed suicidal thoughts which ‘clearly bore similarity’ to how he came by his death.

It was ruled, that on the balance of probabilities, Mr Barnett died by suicide.

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