Brenda Leyland, 63, was found dead in a hotel room after being exposed on Sky News for sending vile tweets to Kate and Gerry McCann
Respected Sky News journalist Martin Brunt has told how he was left "devastated" after an internet 'troll' who targeted Madeleine McCann's parents killed herself after he confronted her.
Brenda Leyland, 63, was found dead in a hotel room days after the long-serving crime reporter approached her outside her home.
The mum-of-two had been identified as the person behind the anonymous @sweepyface account - who posted comments about Gerry and Kate McCann.
The divorcee, who had a history of mental health problems, accused the pair of neglect and a cover-up over the disappearance of their daughter.
An inquest into Mrs Leyland’s death was told she sent more than 400 tweets related to the tragic case in just 10 months - more than one a day.
Her messages featured in a dossier of evidence given to Scotland Yard about suspected online hounding of the McCanns.
She was confronted at her home in Burton Overy, Leics, by Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt last September.
After her face appeared in a broadcast on the TV channel two days later, Mrs Leyland checked into a Leicester hotel and killed herself.
Mr Brunt told her inquest today he was left “devastated” after being told about her death by his boss, Sky News head Jonathan Levy.
“I was devastated and I still am,” he added. “The enormity of what happened will always be with me."
Her son Ben Leyland, who lives in America, said her ‘outing’ as @sweepyface left his mother “a broken wreck”.
He added: "She was completely destroyed by what had occurred. It was the final straw that pushed my mum to do what she did."
Mr Brunt told the hearing at Leicester Town Hall how he discovered Mrs Leyland’s identity after being handed the dossier by a third party.
He went to her home with a cameraman on September 30 last year and confronted her about the tweets - which were later found to not be unlawful.
Mrs Leyland invited him into her home after the initial confrontation and seemed “calm” and rational, he added.
She told him she was “entitled” to tweet her concerns the McCanns had left their children alone on the night Madeleine disappeared in 2007.
Mr Brunt, a respected veteran journalist, said he ended the conversation by telling her: “I hope I have not ruined your day”.
She replied: “I don’t know yet if you have ruined my day or my life."
Mr Brunt said he spoke to her again on the phone before his report was broadcast and she told him she had “thought about ending it all”.
“It was a throw-away remark,” he said. “She said she was feeling better. I had no idea about her mental background or history."
The Sky News broadcast was aired on October 2 and showed Mrs Leyland’s face but did not name her or identify where she lived.
She later rang her son in Los Angeles before asking a neighbour to look after her cats while she “lay low”, the inquest was told.
Mrs Leyland drove to the four-star Marriott Hotel on the outskirts of Leicester the following day.
Horrified staff discovered her body inside her £120 room the next morning and alerted police.
Sgt Kevin Taylor, from Leicestershire Police, said she was found lying on the bed .
Police discovered an iPad alongside her body which was open on a website giving instructions on how to commit suicide.
Coroner Catherine Mason said “all proper guidelines” had been followed by Sky News in their coverage of the story and gave a conclusion of suicide.
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