A MAN accused of rape killed himself in his car on the eve of his appearance in court.

Lee Graham Ripley, 37, was found dead on a lonely country road. He had gassed himself.

Today, his wife of four years, Jeanette, said: "I loved him to bits. I never suspected he would kill himself, but I knew he wouldn't be able to cope with going to prison, alone, away from me."

Mr Ripley, of Rowntree Avenue, York, had been staying with his father, Arthur, for ten days before he was due to appear at York Crown Court, on October 15.

Mr Ripley, 77, said he had not been worried about his son.

He said Lee had seemed "happy enough" the night he died, cross stitching and getting his clothes ready for court before going out in his car.

"I had no reason to worry about him, for the time he was here, he did quite a number of cross stitching patterns and seemed happy enough," he said.

"I had no cause for concern, nothing that might make me think he might take his own life."

Lee Ripley's widow, Jeanette, 49, said she was devastated by his death.

"He was a lovely person," she said. "We were married for four years and knew each other inside out. It has been so hard without him."

An inquest at Pickering Magistrates Court heard how Lee had gone out to ride around in his Volvo at 8pm on October 14.

At 11.45pm, Arthur Ripley became concerned for his son because he had called his mobile and there was no response. At 2.20am, he contacted the police because he feared for his son's safety.

Mr Ripley said he received a call from the police at 10.40am to say that Lee had been found in his car.

In a statement, PC Ian Aconley, of Malton Police Station, described how he found Lee Ripley's blue Volvo 740 parked on the nearside verge of the Howsham to Gallygap road. It had a tube fixed with gaffer tape to the exhaust, which led to a rear window.

PC Aconley said he recovered a number of empty packets of painkillers, gaffer tape, two empty cola bottles and six sealed envelopes.

Michael Oakley, North Yorkshire East coroner, recorded a verdict that Lee Ripley had killed himself.

He said: "It is clear to me from this evidence that, not withstanding the fact that Mr Ripley had not indicated previously that he would take his own life to his loved ones... it was clear that he was due to appear at the crown court and this must have been preying on his mind."

Updated: 10:03 Wednesday, January 12, 2005