A farmer strangled his churchwarden father and buried his body on the family farm after becoming afraid that the property would be handed to someone else, an inquest heard.
Charles Wright, 52, had a “blazing row” with his 82-year-old father, Brian, about the future of Hall Farm near Newark, Nottinghamshire. He later described seeing a “flash of red” before dragging his father from a car and strangling him.
In a voice note recorded on his mobile phone, Wright said his father—who was a churchwarden at St Bartholomew’s Church in Langford and had served on Winthorpe with Langford Parish Council—was “thinking of replacing him” and giving “the lion’s share of the farm to another family member”.
In the recording, he said: “I just had a flash of red and after 25 years and everything I have given him, he was just cutting me out like that.
“I just saw red, dragged him out of the car and throttled him.”
Wright also said in the recording that he planned to take his own life.
The voice note was sent to police on November 22 last year, two days after Brian Wright had been reported missing.
That same day, Wright drove towards his brother James as he ran with a friend, “causing injury”. Brian’s body was later discovered in an outbuilding on the farm.
Churchwarden Brian Wright, 82, was strangled by his son after ‘blazing row’, inquest heard
An inquest into the double tragedy at Nottingham Coroner’s Court concluded this afternoon, with Senior Coroner Mairin Casey finding that Brian Wright had been unlawfully killed and his son had died by suicide.
Addressing family members attending in person and by video link, she said: “The horror of this, I’m clear in my mind, will have affected all of those who have survived in a very deep and painful way.”
The inquest heard that Brian Wright had called his son “useless”, “not capable of farming” and said it was a “mistake to let him farm that land” during an “enormous blazing row”.
Detective Chief Inspector Ruby Burrow, of Nottinghamshire Police, described the voice note to the inquest. She said: “Charles stated that he had killed his father and intended to kill himself.
“He described that his father Brian had criticised him and there had been a disagreement about finances.
“He stated he had buried his father Brian on the family farm.”
Brian Wright was reported missing to police shortly before midnight on November 20 after he failed to take his wife to a hospital appointment, the inquest heard.
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The next day, Wright, his brother James and a mechanic who worked on the family farm spoke to police.
Charles Wright, 52, feared he was being ‘cut out’ of future of family farm in Nottinghamshire
DCI Burrow told the inquest that Wright, who was interviewed the day before taking his own life, was able to describe “difficult family dynamics and difficulties in relationships over the years”, including disputes over finances and working arrangements on the farm.
“He described an argument he had had with his father. He described his father had been critical towards him and he, himself, had taken some time to calm down,” she said.
Wright told police his father had ‘left in the opposite direction’ after what he described as a ‘small argument’, the court heard.
Later on November 21, Brian Wright’s vehicle was reported as being seen ‘out of place’ where it had been left overnight, and his body was found buried on the farm in a shallow grave four days later.
His cause of death was found to be pressure applied to the neck, the inquest heard.
DCI Burrow also said there had been a report on November 22 of ‘a collision between a vehicle and two gentlemen’, where the vehicle was driven at them ‘apparently deliberately’.
She said Charles Wright had driven at his brother James Wright, who was running with his friend, ‘causing injury’.
Charles Wright took his own life later that day and his body was found in an outbuilding area on Hall Farm, with his father found three days later.
The court heard there had been prior tensions at the farm which resulted in a firearms licence being withdrawn from an unnamed family member for a period of time because of concerns firearms ‘could be used inappropriately because of tensions within the family’.
DCI Burrow said: ‘The evidence shows that Charles Wright murdered his father, and that there was no third-party involvement in the death.
‘The evidence showed [Charles] took his own life, and that there was no third-party involvement in that either.’
Ms Casey described it as ‘a truly tragic case’, and offered her condolences to the family.
‘Whatever tensions there may have been leading to this tragedy, we have here the loss of two men, who were fathers to surviving children, and a grandfather,’ she added.
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