Suicide verdict returned at Moat inquest

A JURY at the inquest of cornered killer Raoul Moat, who blasted himself in the head with a sawn-off shotgun, has returned a unanimous verdict of suicide.

Police fired shotgun Tasers as he prepared to kill himself in Rothbury, Northumberland, in July last year, but the round had no effect on him, the three-week inquest at Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The 37-year-old ex-doorman was surrounded by police marksmen and negotiators tried for six hours to get him to surrender, but he was determined not to go back to prison.

The inquest heard that the aim was to incapacitate him, allowing officers to make an arrest, but that in all likelihood there was little or no electrical discharge needed to lock up his muscles.

Moat was on the run after shooting his ex-girlfriend Sam Stobbart, executing her new boyfriend Chris Brown, and then blinding PC David Rathband after he declared war on police.

Officers were offered X12 Taser shotguns which were only licensed for testing in Britain. It was the first time firearms officers had seen the weapons.