Suicide note `reveals guilt over letter bomb'

A SUICIDE note found next to the bodies of a couple linked to the death by letter bombing of Stephen Hoggarth said his killer had only meant to scare him.

Two suicide notes were found next to the bodies of David Broddle and Lorraine Richardson as they lay in their car at Monsal Head in the Peak District, Derbyshire.

The couple had driven more than 80 miles to the beauty spot from their home in Louth, Lincolnshire, before writing the notes and attaching a hosepipe from the exhaust of the car. They died from carbon monoxide poisoning. In one note, Mr Broddle, 34, an Internet expert, admitted he had sent Mr Hoggarth, 32, the bomb which killed him at his home in Louth and which, according to police, narrowly failed to kill his son, Callum, three. The boy was left alone with his father's body for two hours before he answered the phone and told his grandparents his father was dead.

Lincolnshire police, who believe Mr Broddle used his knowledge of electronics plus details from the Internet to make the bomb, said officers were still working on the inquiry to ensure that the notes were written by the couple but their contents made it clear Mr Broddle was consumed with guilt.