My son never recovered from murder charge

5:33pm Tuesday 25th March 2008

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By David Watkinson »

A MAN died following years of alcohol abuse after never recovering from being charged with Blackburn's most famous unsolved murder, his mother has said.

David Leek, 43, sunk into a deep depression and was afraid to go outside after being accused of killing horse dealer Leslie Jackson in 1990, Marina Hoole said.

Miss Hoole, said her son had tried to kill himself with a heroin overdose after he was first charged with murder.

She said her son, who had the charge against him dropped because of a lack of evidence, lived in fear that those responsible for murdering Mr Jackson would attack him.

She said that 18 months ago he was badly beaten at his home in an unrelated attack by a gang who threatened to cut his ear off and he would not press charges.

Miss Hoole, 60, was speaking after an inquest heard Mr Leek, of Wellington Street, Accrington, died of multi-organ failure as a result of drug and alcohol abuse.

The mother, of St Paul's Court, Oswaldtwistle, said that her son was a changed man after being charged with the murder in 2000.

She said: "The whole situation really affected him badly.

"He did not work and he barely went outside. I was the only person who ever saw him.

"In the last few years he was totally changed. He became isolated and developed a drink problem.

"He was terrified of going out and was sure that he would be attacked.

"He had been beaten up a few times and was sure it would happen again."

An inquest heard Mr Leek had been worried because two men, who had been jailed for an assault on him, were due to be released at Christmas. He died on New Year's Day.

Mr Leek was one of three people accused of murdering Mr Jackson in 1990.

All three were charged 10 years after the victim's body was found at his home in Sussex Drive, Audley.

But all three had the allegations against them dropped because the Crown Prosecution Service felt there was not enough evidence to guarantee a conviction.

Miss Hoole said that when she cleared her son's flat she found thousands of court papers relating to his murder charge.

She said he rarely saw his son Simon Ryan, 21, who lives in Shadsworth.

Miss Hoole added: "He used to be such a happy-go-lucky man and worked as a labourer. He loved a joke and went fishing all the time."

She said she hopes to sprinkle his ashes at ponds in Windy Harbour near Poulton-le-Fylde.

The inquest heard that there had been suspicions that Mr Leek had injected heroin shortly before he was rushed to hospital.

But post mortem tests showed only a small amount of heroin in his blood when he was admitted to hospital on Boxing Day.

Dr Richard Prescott gave the medical cause of death as multi-organ failure due to broncho-pneumonia with long-term drug and alcohol abuse a factor.

Coroner Michael Singleton recorded a natural causes verdict.