An inquest heard today that City of York Council leader Rod Hills found his wife, Carol Anne Wallace, collapsed at the bottom of the staircase in their Huntington Road home.
The inquest into Coun Wallace's death, which occurred at about 2.30am on Tuesday, was opened and adjourned by York Deputy Coroner Jonathan Leach.
He said the 49-year-old lecturer had been for a meal with Coun Hills on Monday evening.
"After returning home, Mr Hills retired to bed, leaving his wife downstairs. Some time later, he awoke and got up to go to the toilet. He found his wife collapsed at the bottom of the stairs with an apparent head injury."
An ambulance was called, but Coun Wallace was pronounced dead just after 4am. A post- mortem examination found that the provisional cause of death was a head injury.
Coun Wallace was identified by her daughter, Jodie, on Tuesday morning at York District Hospital.
* Carol Wallace's funeral will take place at York Minster at 11am on Wednesday, followed by burial at York Cemetery.
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