Chef stabbed lover 48 times

The former head chef of a Wolverhampton pub tied up and tortured a friend, stabbing him 48 times before then killing himself, an inquest heard today.

The body of victim Paul Cattell, a 52-year-old administrator, was found 10 days after the New Year's Eve attack at his flat in Oxley by a visiting health worker.

Mr Cattell's normally immaculate apartment in Leverton Rise had been ransacked, with furniture upturned, mirrors smashed, ornaments broken and paintings slashed.

Deputy coroner Angus Smillie heard how the victim's body was found in the lounge while his attacker, 27-year-old Nicholas Ryan, head chef at the popular Walkabout bar in Queen Street, was found dead in the bedroom.

The coroner ruled Ryan had died of an overdose of anti-depressants, prescribed to Mr Cattell, after he killed the older man.

David Richardson, a friend of both men, said in a statement that the two men were in a sexual "love-hate" relationship and were always arguing.

Home Office pathologist Dr Peter Acland said a post-mortem discovered 31 knife wounds on Mr Cattell's back, 16 on his front and chest plus one or two to his face. But Mr Cattell died of a heart attack brought on by the trauma of the assault.

The nature of his wounds and a dressing gown cord around his wrist suggested he had been tied up and tortured, said Dr Acland.