History repeated itself tragically 12 years after a man in Georgia, Texas, received a heart transplant from a donor who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Transplant recipient and former director of a golf tournament Sonny Graham took over his donor's life in more ways than one.

After he had 33-year-old labourer Terry Cottle's heart put into his chest, Mr Graham left his wife of 35 years for Mr Cottle's widow, Cheryl, and they were married in 2004, said the New York Post.

'I felt like I had known her for years. I couldn't keep my eyes off her. I just stared,' Mr Graham said of his first meeting with Cheryl in 1997.

He also started drinking the same brand of beer that Mr Cottle used to enjoy, though he had never been a beer drinker.

'I never saw him drink a beer in his life,' said his best friend Bill Carson.

'It was a year or two after the transplant. He started screaming, 'Stop the car. I've got to get a beer.''

This month, Mr Graham, 69, ended his life in the same way as his donor - by shooting himself in the head.

He was found dead in a utility building in his backyard.

This story was first published in thesundaytimes on Apr 20, 2008.