ROCK star Jon Lee killed himself after calling his wife and telling her: "I'm going to do something stupid," an inquest heard yesterday.

The Newport-born drummer in rock band Feeder hanged himself with a metal dog chain at his home in Miami, the hearing at Tredegar magistrates' court was told. The Argus exclusively revealed his death on January 7.

And following his death, Mr Lee's wife, Brazilian model Tatiana Englehart, wrote a letter to the Argus paying tribute to the man she called her soulmate and best friend. The inquest heard how the 33-year-old musician's body was discovered by his wife when she returned home from work.

Kenneth Le Prevost, coroner's officer with Gwent Police, collected evidence from the Miami police department, the autopsy report carried out in the USA and Mr Lee's father Norman.

Mr Le Prevost said in evidence read to the court that Jon Lee had been due to return to England to work on a recording contract when he died.

He said the relationship between Mr Lee and his wife, who had a young son called Cameron, had been "somewhat strained" and they had been separated for a short time, although they were reconciled before his death.

Mr Le Prevost said that on the day of Mr Lee's death his wife had left home to go to work. Her husband had telephoned to speak to her several times although she was not always able to speak to him.

"On the last occasion he said to her 'you need to come home, I'm going to do something stupid'," Mr Le Prevost said.

"She didn't place any great significance on this remark at the time. "When she returned home at 7.15pm it was to find her husband hanging from the rafters of the garage at home by a metal dog chain around his neck. There were three notes pinned to his shirt and a further note on the hallway floor."

He said a post mortem examination carried out in Miami revealed that he died as a result of hanging.

Coroner David Bowen returned the verdict that Mr Lee killed himself while depressed. Mr Lee's funeral, held at St Mary's Church, Stow Hill, Newport, was attended by hundreds of mourners, including a number of figures from the South Wales music scene, including Grant Nicholas, the band's Chepstow-born guitarist.