A coroner has concluded that Donald McPherson murdered his wife, Paula Leeson, despite a jury having found him not guilty of her murder at trial. Leeson, a 47-year-old heiress, died by drowning at a holiday cottage in Denmark in June 2017. The senior coroner for Manchester South, Alison Mutch, delivered the ruling on August 6, 2026, following extensive delays caused by criminal and civil proceedings.

Leeson’s death had initially been treated as accidental by Danish authorities. McPherson, 53, told police he found her face down in the swimming pool, which was approximately four feet deep. Although Leeson was a competent swimmer, investigators noted she had 13 separate external injuries. Hours after her death, McPherson moved thousands of pounds from her bank accounts, leading to suspicions about his financial motives.

The case gained renewed attention after a High Court judge ruled in civil proceedings two years ago that McPherson unlawfully killed Leeson. The judge found that McPherson had strangled her unconscious before drowning her to benefit financially. McPherson had taken out a £3.5 million life insurance policy on Leeson shortly before her death and was deeply in debt at the time.

At the inquest held in Stockport coroner’s court, Mutch agreed with the High Court’s ruling, stating that McPherson compressed Leeson’s neck to render her unconscious, causing her to drown. She also emphasized that he stood to gain financially from her death and was the only beneficiary. Leeson’s family, who run a plant hire business in south Manchester, had previously blocked McPherson from inheriting her £4.4 million estate.

During his 2021 murder trial at Manchester Crown Court, Justice Goose halted proceedings halfway through, directing the jury to acquit McPherson. The judge cited insufficient evidence to exclude the possibility of an accidental death, noting that pathologists could not rule out scenarios in which Leeson may have fainted or fallen into the pool. McPherson’s defense maintained that his wife’s injuries could have resulted from rescue attempts or resuscitation.

Following the trial, McPherson cleared Leeson’s possessions from their home in Sale, Greater Manchester, and joined a support group for widowers, which he described as “Tinder for widows.” He has consistently denied any involvement in his wife’s death, maintaining it was a tragic accident.

Leeson’s family attended the inquest, with her father Willy, brother Neville, and son Ben present. The coroner’s finding of unlawful killing adds a further legal and moral dimension to a case that has been marked by conflicting verdicts and prolonged litigation.