A DEVOTED husband bludgeoned his wife to death at their Cuddington home before taking his own life, an inquest heard.

Sat and Barbara Dhillon, who had been married for 27 years, were known as an incredibly close couple. But in the early hours of August 31 last year, 49-year-old Mr Dhillon killed his wife. He killed himself little more than 12 hours later.

A jury at the inquest in Warrington recorded a verdict of unlawful killing on Mrs Dhillon, also 49, but shed little light on possible motives.

Speaking after the hearing, Mrs Dhillon's brother, John Mathews, said her family couldn't believe what happened.

'I have never got over my sister's death,' he said. 'My sister was murdered and her husband committed suicide. I have known that since the day it happened.

'She was unable to do anything about it - it is devastating.'

The inquest heard Sat Pal Singh Dhillon stepped in front of an afternoon rush-hour train near Cuddington station. The body of his wife was found by police two hours later at their home on Moss Lane.

She died from head injuries inflicted by the bedside lamp. Police said she had also suffered possible strangulation, fractured ribs and 'defensive' injuries to the back of her hands.

PC Ian Plant told the inquest: 'I looked in the first two bedrooms then went into the bedroom at the back.

'The duvet was puffed up so I pulled the duvet back and saw the body. There was blood on the duvet and carpet.'

DC Stephen Holliwell, who attended the scene, said police found a gold bedside lamp which had Mrs Dhillon's blood on it, along with Mr Dhillon's fingerprints. There were blood-saturated blankets and towels in the bath.

DC Holliwell said a snooker table in the house was covered with financial documents. There were cheques written for a cattery and funeral costs.

DC Holliwell said: 'A note was found at the bottom of the bed - it was a letter from the Dhillons to all the family but it was not signed.'

A later investigation into the letter, entitled 'Goodbye', found it was created on Mr Dhillon's computer at 3.12am on August 31 but printed off at 1.48pm, after Mrs Dhillon's death.

Regarding the cheques, a handwriting expert confirmed it was not Mrs Dhillon's handwriting but could not conclude it was not Mr Dhillon's.

The inquest heard the couple had been in financial difficulties. Mr Dhillon, a futures trader, had cut back on his work since his wife became ill with rheumatoid arthritis.

Mr Dhillon had accessed search engines on the internet looking for information on paracetamol overdoses, cutting wrists, the quickest suicide methods, blood loss and train times.

The inquest dismissed any suggestion of a 'mercy killing' because, while Mrs Dhillon had suffered from rheum-atoid arthritis for 16 years, her GP, Dr William Forsyth, said she took her illness in her stride. The jury ruled Mrs Dhillon was killed unlawfully and Mr Dhillon took his own life.

DRIVER Thomas Roscoe relived the moment when he saw Sat Dhillon lying in the path of his train.

Mr Roscoe, who was driving between Greenbank and Cuddington when the incident happened, said he was beginning to slow down approaching Cuddington at about 5.30pm on August 31.

He said as he approached the bridge over the railway he was slowing down for the station - but at that moment, he saw Mr Dhillon emerge from the far side, behind the bridge.

Mr Roscoe told the inquest at Warrington: 'This chap came from behind the bridge. He seemed to scuttle over the first rail and lay down on the second

rail. He was only a matter of yards away. It happened in seconds so there was no chance to do anything. I was going at about 40 mph.

'I could just see the back of his head the whole time.'

British Transport Police arrived at the scene and discovered Mr Dhillon's house keys and driving licence. The

police were able to identify the body and find his address from his driving licence.

Two hours later, they went to his home on Moss Lane in Cuddington. They failed to get an answer when they rang the door bell so used Mr Dhillon's keys to enter the property, finding Mrs Dhillon dead in an upstairs bedroom.