A coroner has ruled that there is not enough evidence to suggest that Gary Speed intended to take his own life.
The inquest into the death of the Wales football manager heard how his body was discovered by his wife Louise hanging in their garage on the morning of 27 November 2011 at their home in the village of Huntington, Cheshire.
The previous evening, the couple had been out at a dinner party and had "had an exchange of words about something or nothing" when they returned home, his wife said.
The Cheshire coroner, Nicholas Rheinberg, in a narrative verdict said the cause of death was hanging.
"The evidence does not sufficiently determine whether this was intentional or accidental," he said.
Louise Speed told the inquest that following the exchange of words, she suggested she go for a drive, but her husband blocked the door and told her she was not going anywhere.
"I went upstairs and lay on the bed for probably about five or 10 minutes," she told the coroner.
"Then I decided to go for a drive, to clear my mind [and for] space to think."
She drove a short distance before phoning her husband, getting no reply, and trying to call him again.
"I decided to keep the car running and stay there until I could get into the house," she said. She fell asleep and woke up at about 6am and went to the outside bathroom.
She said she noticed some shed keys missing that were usually stored there and went to the shed to see if her husband was there before going to the garage.
Wiping away tears she said: "I went to the window and there I saw him."
She nodded as Rheinberg asked: "Could you see Gary on the stairs?" It was apparent that her husband was hanging, she confirmed. She then woke the children to open up the house and called the emergency services.
On the advice of the emergency services, she cut her husband to the ground as paramedics were dispatched to the scene, arriving within eight minutes.
A paramedic told the hearing that the patient was "blue and cold" but they tried for 20 minutes to resuscitate him.
Louise Speed confirmed there was no note or message left by her husband before his death. Four days before his death he had sent a text message that talked about ending his life, but she had dismissed it because he also spoke about his hopes for the future.
She admitted there had been pressure on their relationship: "Like all couples we would be going through ups and downs in our marriage and we were working through it."
Police said the death was not being treated as suspicious. The couple lived in Huntington with their two teenage sons, and Speed was said to have been a devoted family man.
The day before his death, Speed had appeared on BBC1's Football Focus programme talking enthusiastically about his team's improved fortunes and his hopes for success in World Cup qualifying matches in 2012.
His mother, Carol Speed, in a statement read to the inquest described how her son was always a "glass half-empty person".
When, in 2010, he was awarded an MBE, he did not think he deserved it, she said, but his sons had persuaded him to accept the honour. Receiving the phone call from her daughter-in-law had been "the worst moment of my life", she said.
Speed's mother said she had watched again some television footage of her son before his death and realised his smile didn't seem genuine as "it didn't extend to his eyes".
Alan Shearer, Speed's friend and former Newcastle United teammate, said they had been friends since 1998 when they played football and socialised together.
His statement said they had met with their families in Portugal last summer while holidaying and he seemed "more relaxed than he had ever done".
The day before his death, Shearer bumped into his friend at a television studio in Manchester, where Speed was filming Football Focus and "he seemed fine. He was taking the mick out of my disguise of a scarf and cap, which was typical of him." Shearer said his friend did not appear worried about anything.
Shearer said he had spoken to Speed about his marriage and had told him such issues were usual in a relationship so long. "He took the advice well and said he was going to stick in there," Shearer said.
When he saw Louise Speed on holiday she was "the most relaxed he had ever seen her" and he thought the couple were working through their issues.
In a statement read out after the inquest, Speed's family said the day of his death was the "worst day of our lives" but his memory "shines brightly in our thoughts and we will forever remember the wonderful times we shared with him".
The family added: "Throughout the nine weeks since, there have been some very dark moments, which we have all had to find our own different ways to endure."
They said they had to now adapt the future "without a husband, a father, a brother and son".
They said: "Our thanks go to the FA of Wales which has arranged the Gary Speed memorial match against Costa Rica at the Cardiff City stadium on Wednesday 29 February. This will give everyone whose lives were touched and enriched by Gary's achievements the opportunity to attend, celebrate his life and pay their final respects."
