A MILLIONAIRE who committed suicide in his factory had been having an affair with a married woman in the weeks prior to his death, an inquest has heard.
Ashley Renham's body was found by his teenage daughter, Candice, at Middleton Miniature Mouldings, in Barnard Castle, on September 23, last year.
At the inquest, Mr Renham's former wife, Irene Renham, said the 58-year-old had been suffering from depression and that two weeks before he died, the woman he had been seeing had finished their relationship.
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Mr Renham made his millions through Renham and Wade, which makes injection-moulded parts for medical companies.
He founded the company in 1983, but in 2006 he was controversially voted off the board by directors he had appointed.
Renham and Wade changed to RW Injection Moulding and Mr Renham set up Middleton Minature Mouldings.
Mrs Renham told Coroner Andrew Tweddle that she had maintained contact with her former husband because of their children.
Candice, who was only 14 at the time of her father's death, was due to see him on Saturday, September 22, but became worried when he did not answer her texts or phone calls.
Mrs Renham said: "When we could not get hold of him on Sunday morning, we got worried because we knew he was not well.
"Me and my daughter drove to his house, but his car was not there, so we went to his factory.
"When we saw his car outside the factory, we thought we were worrying for nothing.
"My daughter went in first. She walked about four steps and then started screaming. I saw what had happened and dragged her out."
Sergeant Peter Moore, from Barnard Castle police, told the inquest that Mr Renham had electrocuted himself.
Mrs Renham said she believed Mr Renham had been upset when the affair ended. She said: "Ashley had asked her to move in with him, but she had chosen to stay with her husband.
"After he died, the woman came round to my house and told me he had seen her and her husband together in town on the Saturday before his death."
Mr Tweddle said: "Whatever he was doing could not have been an accident. It was his intention to take his own life."
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