Man found hanged

A 16-YEAR-OLD girl found the body of her mother’s partner at their Springhead home.

The teenager made the disturbing discovery as she looked for Stephen Lemm at the house in Oldham Road.

She and her mother were woken at 2am, on August 10, last year, by a choking noise.

It was then Mr Lemm’s body was found hanged from the bannister of the stairs leading into the attic.

An inquest yesterday heard how Mr Lemm (38) and his partner of 12 months, Lesley Kenny, were having relationship problems.

He moved in with her shortly after they met, when he lost his job and was struggling to pay his rent.

She said in a statement he was insecure and alcohol-dependant, and a few months before his death, in August last year, he self-harmed by stabbing himself in the stomach.

She said it had started as a good relationship, but he developed massive mood swings, and on the day before his death, he was moody and argumentative.

She later found scissors on the TV in her bedroom, which she thought Mr Lemm may have put there so she could cut him down.

Coroner Simon Nelson recorded a verdict that he took his own life.