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A millionaire businessman killed himself after he suspected his wife of having an affair , an inquest has heard.

Phil Smith had moved out of the £1.5m home he shared with his partner Violetta and their three daughters a few days before his death, after he followed her and saw her with another man.

The 52-year-old broke down in tears in his office when he told his adult daughter from his first marriage the news.

The next day he met with friends for dinner but after he left he turned off the tracker in his Range Rover and drove 37 miles to a rural holiday chalet he had pre-booked and hung himself from a roof beam.

He sent delayed text messages, which only arrived several hours after his death, to his son Joshua, daughter Khianna and several friends telling them what he had done.

Police had to use check points to track his car's movements and his mobile phone to triangulate his position before they found his body on February 2.

(Image: KhiannaSmith/BNPS)

The inquest heard Mr Smith was hardworking and dedicated, a managing director of Orbis Software.

He also built his own home - a large detached property with a swimming pool next to prestigious Ferndown Golf Club in Dorset.

He had two children from his first marriage and after that relationship broke down he met his second wife Violetta. They had been together for 15 years and married nearly 13 years.

Mr Smith suffered a stroke in 2012 which affected him both physically and mentally. He had suffered with pain and depression.

The inquest in Bournemouth heard that after the stroke he became insecure and paranoid and believed his wife was having an affair.

Mrs Smith said: "We had been living together but we were bickering and arguing so prior to his death Phil moved out and stayed with friends, the Sunday before he died.

"We had discussed divorce last July but decided to work through our issues. He said he loved me and couldn't imagine life without me."

Mrs Smith said she still thought they could reconcile and there was no affair, her husband had imagined it.

But his daughter Khianna, who worked with her father, said he had broken down in tears at the office on Tuesday, January 31 when he told her he had seen his wife with a man.

(Image: BNPS)

She said: "He believed he had seen her with somebody else. He came into work on the Tuesday and just broke down in tears. He said he drove to Dorchester and saw Violetta with another man.

"On the Monday he went to see his divorce solicitor to draw up divorce financial status and the week before that we were viewing flats for him to move into. As far as he was concerned the relationship was over.

"He loved her to bits but he couldn't see a future."

Miss Smith said she last saw her father at the end of the working day on February 1, when he seemed alright and said goodbye as normal.

She got a text message from her father on her lunch break the next day. Similar messages had been sent to her brother and some of her father's friends.

They contacted the police who started searching for Mr Smith and eventually found his Range Rover parked outside a holiday chalet at Stour Cross Farm near Gillingham and found Mr Smith hanging in the bedroom with photos of his loved ones.

The court heard from the owner Christina Trim that Mr Smith had booked the chalet multiple times before his death.

He first booked in 2016, for October 11-14 and paid in full but did not show up.

On February 1 she said he arrived at 11.15pm and they had a brief encounter because she had locked the chalet assuming he was not coming.

She went to introduce herself properly at 10.30am the next morning but got no reply.

Her husband called her later in the afternoon informing her the police were there.

Rachael Griffin, the Dorset senior coroner, recorded a verdict of suicide.

She said: "Phil was very popular, well liked and much loved. He was a devoted family man and devoted to his career.

"He had troubles at home. He never specifically talked about any plans of taking his own life but had talked in the past about not wanting to be here.

"He went to a remote area, turned off the tracking device on his car - he never intended to be found or interrupted.

"He sent texts on delay which clearly indicated they were making provision for the future, goodbye messages and indicated he had already taken his own life."