A husband in his 70s woke up at a Welsh hotel to find his 22-year-old wife hanged just feet away from his bed, but denied 'grooming or exploiting her', an inquest has heard.
Noel Rogers got up to find his wife Porsche Louise Rogers dead at the Berwyn Arms in Glyndyfrdwy, near Corwen, on October 29, 2019 - the day they were due to leave.
Mr Rogers said he met his wife, formerly known as Amy Louise Roberts, from Pen Y Foel, Welshpool, when she was homeless in Wrexham, an inquest in Ruthin heard.
She used a wheelchair and came to live with him at a previous bungalow in Acrefair, but he denied that he had groomed or exploited her, insisting he looked after her after they 'fell for each other'.
Her mother, Linda Roberts, had concerns about the circumstances surrounding her death and said she believed Mrs Rogers would not have taken her own life, but a police inquiry found no suspicious circumstances.
An Independent Office for Police Conduct probe found nothing wrong with the way officers dealt with Mrs Rogers at the hotel.
The couple were at the hotel celebrating their first wedding anniversary and Mrs Rogers had stayed up drinking on their last night, with the hotel landlady saying she was worried the 22-year-old was going to go along the A5 in her wheelchair.
The victim died from ligature marks but her husband claimed he found her on the floor.
Noel Rogers got up to find his wife Porsche Louise Rogers dead at the Berwyn Arms in Glyndyfrdwy, near Corwen, on October 29, 2019 - the day they were due to leave
The couple were at the Berwyn Arms celebrating their first wedding anniversary and Mrs Rogers had stayed up drinking on their last night there
The next morning, Mr Rogers said he went outside to get help after finding his wife on the floor, and a refuse collector called the police.
A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as hanging, the inquest was told.
The inquest found Mrs Rogers had alcohol in her system at just under twice the legal driving limit, and anti-convulsant and anti-psychotic medicines, at therapeutic levels.
The couple had stayed at the hotel for eight nights, and the night before Mrs Rogers was found dead, Mr Rogers went to bed at around 9.30pm because he was driving the next day, while his wife stayed up.
The landlady at the time, Julie Redmond, called the police after Mrs Rogers became difficult when she was refused another drink by the hotel staff.
Mr Rogers eventually came downstairs and after being spoken to by officers, Mrs Rogers returned to their hotel room.
Mr Rogers told an inquest he went to get help after finding his wife on the floor. A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as hanging. Pictured: Berwyn Arms in Glyndyfrdwy
John Gittins, the coroner for North Wales East and Central, recorded a conclusion of misadventure and said Mrs Rogers had deliberately used a ligature
Her husband said he didn't remember her coming into the room, before making the awful discovery the next morning.
He said: 'I was devastated and upset. I couldn't understand why she did it.'
Mrs Rogers had a complex mental health history and had been in the care system when she was younger, the inquest heard.
It was told that she had previously self-harmed, talked about taking her own life and had placed ligatures around her neck.
John Gittins, the coroner for North Wales East and Central, recorded a conclusion of misadventure and said Mrs Rogers had deliberately used a ligature.
But he added that he didn't believe she had done so to take her own life, as she was so close to her husband at the time and her actions had been 'fogged' by alcohol.
'I don't think this was deliberately intended,' Mr Gittins said.
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