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5 September 2011
Last updated at 12:23 ET
Gunman Raoul Moat's split with his girlfriend led him to "murderous acts", an inquest jury has been told.
The jury was played a recording of a phone call in which Moat reacts furiously when Samantha Stobbart tells him their relationship is over.
Moat was in Durham Prison when the phone conversation took place.
The 37-year-old sparked a manhunt in July last year when he shot three people on Tyneside, including Ms Stobbart.
The inquest at Newcastle Crown Court is expected to last four weeks.
He complained that "everybody is getting on my case" and that he was getting "picked on".
Ammunition and noose The conversation ends with the phone being abruptly slammed down.
Supt Jim Napier, of Northumbria Police, told the inquest: "It is clear from the evidence that Moat's break-up with Samantha Stobbart was the catalyst for his murderous acts."
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Mr Napier told the hearing that six letters were found in his house which showed Moat intended to take his own life.
He said: "They appear to have been prepared by Moat and all intimated that he intended to take his own life."
Police also found home-made ammunition and a noose in the loft.
Moat shot his ex-girlfriend and killed her boyfriend Chris Brown in Gateshead on 3 July 2010.
The following day he shot and blinded Pc David Rathband in his patrol car in Newcastle before going on the run.
Continue reading the main story At the scene
Raoul Moat's final hours, cornered by the river at Rothbury, were spent under the gaze of police marksmen, a crowd of onlookers and the TV news channel cameras.
But the beginning of the inquest into his death was notable for not attracting a single onlooker outside Newcastle Crown Court.
Such was the media interest into the hearing, however, that seats in the dock, behind reinforced glass, were provided to accommodate about 30 reporters.
The public gallery was full but mainly with reporters and just a handful of members of the public.
Moat's estranged brother, Angus, arrived an hour before the hearing, smartly dressed in a suit and sunglasses.
He looked tense but composed and sat quietly and attentively at the back of the court when the inquest began.
He died in the Northumberland village of Rothbury after a stand-off with police.
Earlier, the 11-person jury was sworn in at Newcastle Crown Court.
The inquest will focus on the period from his containment by police to the moment when he was pronounced dead.
Newcastle Coroner David Mitford said an inquest was needed because "Mr Moat met his death when he was effectively detained".
Barristers representing the Moat family, Northumbria Police Chief Constable, West Yorkshire police officers and Pro-Tec Limited, the firm that supplied Taser weapons, were in court, Mr Mitford said.
He said: "The publicity was so great it would be impossible for anybody not to know what happened, to some extent, in the summer of last year."
The coroner asked the jurors to try "the impossible" and forget what they have already heard about the Moat case.
"There have been lots of theories and conclusions drawn, some of which may have been accurate, some of which may not," he said.
The inquest would focus on the events in Rothbury on 9 and 10 July, and the jury heard there would be questions about weapons used, how police managed the incident, how officers dealt with the deceased and how he acted.
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The jury was played a recording of a phone call in which Moat reacts furiously when Samantha Stobbart tells him their relationship is over.
Moat was in Durham Prison when the phone conversation took place.
The 37-year-old sparked a manhunt in July last year when he shot three people on Tyneside, including Ms Stobbart.
The inquest at Newcastle Crown Court is expected to last four weeks.
He complained that "everybody is getting on my case" and that he was getting "picked on".
Ammunition and noose The conversation ends with the phone being abruptly slammed down.
Supt Jim Napier, of Northumbria Police, told the inquest: "It is clear from the evidence that Moat's break-up with Samantha Stobbart was the catalyst for his murderous acts."
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.Mr Napier told the hearing that six letters were found in his house which showed Moat intended to take his own life.
He said: "They appear to have been prepared by Moat and all intimated that he intended to take his own life."
Police also found home-made ammunition and a noose in the loft.
Moat shot his ex-girlfriend and killed her boyfriend Chris Brown in Gateshead on 3 July 2010.
The following day he shot and blinded Pc David Rathband in his patrol car in Newcastle before going on the run.
Continue reading the main story At the scene
Raoul Moat's final hours, cornered by the river at Rothbury, were spent under the gaze of police marksmen, a crowd of onlookers and the TV news channel cameras.
But the beginning of the inquest into his death was notable for not attracting a single onlooker outside Newcastle Crown Court.
Such was the media interest into the hearing, however, that seats in the dock, behind reinforced glass, were provided to accommodate about 30 reporters.
The public gallery was full but mainly with reporters and just a handful of members of the public.
Moat's estranged brother, Angus, arrived an hour before the hearing, smartly dressed in a suit and sunglasses.
He looked tense but composed and sat quietly and attentively at the back of the court when the inquest began.
He died in the Northumberland village of Rothbury after a stand-off with police.
Earlier, the 11-person jury was sworn in at Newcastle Crown Court.
The inquest will focus on the period from his containment by police to the moment when he was pronounced dead.
Newcastle Coroner David Mitford said an inquest was needed because "Mr Moat met his death when he was effectively detained".
Barristers representing the Moat family, Northumbria Police Chief Constable, West Yorkshire police officers and Pro-Tec Limited, the firm that supplied Taser weapons, were in court, Mr Mitford said.
He said: "The publicity was so great it would be impossible for anybody not to know what happened, to some extent, in the summer of last year."
The coroner asked the jurors to try "the impossible" and forget what they have already heard about the Moat case.
"There have been lots of theories and conclusions drawn, some of which may have been accurate, some of which may not," he said.
The inquest would focus on the events in Rothbury on 9 and 10 July, and the jury heard there would be questions about weapons used, how police managed the incident, how officers dealt with the deceased and how he acted.
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