A FATHER who starved himself to death after killing his newly-wed daughter admitted he deserved to suffer, an inquest was told on Tuesday.
Terry Rodgers - once Britain's most wanted man - went on hunger-strike while on remand in jail after being charged with murdering Chanel Taylor.
He began eating again when he was sent to a psychiatric hospital for a six-month assessment but stopped once more upon his return to prison.
On Tuesday, at the end of a two-day hearing, an inquest jury took less than half an hour to return a verdict that the 57-year-old took his own life.
The hearing was told how staff at Lincoln Prison stopped trying to encourage Rodgers to eat after being told they were breaching his human rights.
Giving evidence, former governor Lynne Saunders said it was illegal to force-feed an inmate if he was considered to be of sound mind.
He could be fed only if he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital, which meant he was deemed incapable of making his own decisions.
Ms Saunders, who spoke to him about his declining health on a daily basis, said Rodgers once told her: "I don't deserve not to be in pain."
According to the Human Rights Act, force-feeding a hunger-striker or even leaving food in his cell constitutes "degrading treatment or torture".
Ms Saunders told the inquest in Lincoln: "I think it would be illegal for us to force food on him. It is not within our remit to force-feed prisoners.
"It can be done if someone is detained under the Mental Health Act. But Terry was a remand prisoner, and it would not be for us to do that."
She said Rodgers made clear he intended to starve himself to death, adding: "He was quite determined to follow his wishes to end his life.
"He aged about 20 years in six months. It was quite remarkable. When I last saw him, two or three days before he died, he was incredibly thin and very frail."
Police began the hunt for Rodgers in July 2004 after Chanel (23), was shot at her New Street home in Huthwaite shortly after returning from a Mexican honeymoon with her husband Lee (22).
Father-of-three Rodgers, formerly of South Normanton, had been invited to stay with the couple at their home after splitting from his wife.
After a fortnight on the run he was arrested following a huge manhunt that combed acres of woodland in Nottinghamshire.
Rodgers, who blasted Chanel three times with a shotgun, denied murder but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
He was still awaiting trial when, just four hours after being transferred from his cell, he died in Lincoln County Hospital on 25th February 2006.
He had not eaten solid food for more than 130 days but had been drinking three litres of orange juice a day, as well as smoking heavily.
In keeping with Prison Service policy, he had been asked to sign a document to declare he understood the consequences of his actions.
He wrote: "I am resolute in my determination to die. I have thought long and hard about it. I have made clear my intention is to be with my daughter."
The inquest was told his case was even the subject of a High Court hearing in 2005, when a judge ruled he had the mental capacity to refuse food.
Mrs Justice Barron said in her judgment: "His actions will result in a great deal of pain, but he sees that as an important part of his punishment."
Chanel's family accused Rodgers, a former security firm boss, of 'cheating justice' after his death. He never revealed why he killed his daughter.
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