James Morrison found his wife hanged at their home, a coroner has confirmed as the inquest into the death of the mother-of-two opens today.
Gillian Catchpole, 45, was found suspended by a ligature at her home in School Lane, Whitminster, last Friday morning, the area Gloucestershire Coroner Roland Wooderson was told.
It comes as Ms Catchpole shared her excitement about starting a new catering business after suffering health issues related to 2022 kidney transplant.
Mr Wooderson formally opened an inquest into the death today and adjourned it to a date to be fixed after hearing that a pathologist had provisionally given cause of death as ligature suspension.
Samples were taken from her body for toxicological analysis, the coroner was told.
Mr Wooderson said Ms Catchpole who was born on July 19, 1978, was found by her husband, whose full real name is James Morrison Catchpole, in her house last Friday after he had been contacted by a friend who called at the property but could not get access.
Gillian Catchpole was found suspended by a ligature at her home in School Lane, Whitminster, last Friday morning
Mr Wooderson said Ms Catchpole who was born on July 19, 1978, was found by her husband
James Morrison and his wife Gillian Catchpole pictured together in July 2012
Mr Morrison had a key to the property and found his wife on entering.
Paramedics and police were called after he found her and she was pronounced deceased at 9.37am.
Identification of her body was carried out with the aid of her driving licence photograph and family members who attended the scene, the coroner heard.
Police were satisfied there were no suspicious circumstances, the coroner was told.
Pathologist Dr Terry Jones carried out the post mortem and gave the provisional cause of death as hanging.
It comes as James Morrison is believed to have cancelled all work commitments and new music plans following the sudden death of his wife Gill Catchpole at their family home.
The 39-year-old singer had posted a picture on Instagram of him playing his guitar in front of a screen just last Thursday, captioning it: ‘New Year, new adventure…’
But just hours later on Friday, the body of 45-year-old mother-of-two Gill Catchpole was found at their property in the Gloucestershire village of Whitminster.
Morrison had faded from the public eye in recent years, although did go on a 22-date ‘Greatest Hits’ tour in 2022 and played festivals including Kew The Music in London.
And it seems he had been planning new music, given that the social media photo showed him in front of recording and mixing equipment.
James Morrison and his wife Gill Catchpole after a Brit Awards afterparty in London in 2009
Gill Catchpole was pictured without her wedding ring (circled) in August last year
Gill Catchpole had made her relationship status single on Facebook
Now, a source has told The Sun that Morrison, 39, will focus on caring for his two daughters Elsie, 15, and Ada Rose, five, after cancelling all work commitments.
Ms Catchpole, 45, who had been married to Morrison for 17 years since 2006, had been pictured without her wedding ring and was looking for a new home shortly before she died.
She had spoken of her ‘ups, downs and heartache’ and was reportedly looking for a property in Whitminster shortly before her death.
Ms Catchpole was also running a successful café in the village, called the Cotswold Sandwich Box.
Speaking recently about her life since a kidney transplant, she said the life-saving operation came around the time her husband returned to the limelight with a greatest hits album and festival appearances.
He has endured a series of family tragedies. Morrison disappeared from the music industry for some time after losing his father Paul, an alcoholic, in 2010 and his elder brother Alexis and nephew Callum within three years.
Morrison and his family said they were ‘devastated’ by Ms Catchpole’s death. The day before the tragedy, the singer-songwriter shared an image of himself recording guitar music on Instagram with the caption: ‘New year, new adventure’.
James Morrison and his wife Gill Catchpole at the Odeon Leicester Square in London in 2012
James Morrison had posted a picture on Instagram of him playing his guitar in front of a screen just last Thursday, captioning it: ‘New Year, new adventure…’ his wife died the following day
The couple had been together for around two decades, and met after Ms Catchpole moved into Morrison’s mother’s home as a lodger.
Ms Catchpole’s death has come around 14 months after she had a kidney transplant in 2022, which she admitted had left her shattered but she praised her family for ‘picking up the many pieces of my life’.
She had shared a post on her catering business’s social media in November last year expressing excitement at getting the venture going after the transplant.
She wrote: ‘Well, what can I say? What a difference a year makes. This time last year I was having my kidney transplant and a year on after many ups downs and heartache I am here owning my own business.
‘At the start of this year I myself never saw this coming. For anyone out there struggling I can tell you from experience it does get better.
‘Thanks to my amazing family and friends that have been there through it all and picked up the many pieces of me and my life. You all know who you are… today I feel blessed.’
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