A MAN accused of murdering his estranged wife killed himself in prison less than 48 hours after his lawyer warned guards he could be suicidal, an inquest heard.

Russell Yeates, 49, from Cuddesdon Road, Horspath, was found dead by prison officers on January 9, 2009 after cutting his throat.

He was in the middle of a trial accused of killing his wife, Debbie Smith, in Wheatley in May 2008.

The inquest yesterday heard his solicitor, Martin Harvey, had raised concerns about his state of mind two days before he was found dead, but it was decided it was not necessary to put him on suicide watch.

Mr Harvey told the inquest at Oxford Coroner’s Court his client had appeared “a bit down” at the end of the day’s evidence on January 7.

Mr Harvey said: “I said to him ‘I’ll see you in the morning’ and he said words to the effect ‘if you do, you do, if you don’t, you don’t’.”

He told custody officers from Reliance Custodial Services of his concerns, and they passed them on to staff at Bullingdon Prison, near Bicester.

When Yeates returned to the prison, he was interviewed by senior nurse Nigel Davies.

Mr Davies said: “He didn’t seem overly happy or overly down.

“He did say it had been a tough day at court and he was tired, and when I asked about what he had said, he laughed and said yes, he did fancy a lie in.

“He assured me he didn’t mean anything by the comment.”

Mr Davies said he did not believe it was necessary for more regular checks to be made on Yeates.

He said: “I was very much aware that Russell was tired, he wanted a good night’s sleep and I don’t think I would have been doing him any favours having someone shine a torch on him every 15 minutes.”

Yeates was found lying on his bed after prison support officer Ian Gordon was unable to rouse him shortly before 6am on January 9, 2009.

Prison suicide prevention co-ordinator Rose Mullins said Yeates had been considered a suicide risk when he first came to the prison in June 2008.

She said: “(By January, 2009) He had had a good six months of being okay in himself and not needing additional support.

“He told me didn’t want to leave prison an old man, so for me the highest risk for Russell would have been if he was convicted and awaiting sentence, not through the trial.”

Yeates had used a razor and she said it was common practice for prisoners to have disposable razors in their cells, especially if they wanted to “look neat” in readiness for a court appearance.

She said: “In the absence of razor blades, should someone want to cut themselves there is plenty of opportunity, as there are glass jars sold by the canteen for coffee, and sardines which come in tins with ring pulls.”

The jury of seven men and two women were told an as-yet-unpublished report into the death had resulted in some changes to procedures at Bullingdon.

The jury recorded a verdict that Yeates took his own life.