Moment escaped psychiatric patient is caught by police after beating church warden to death with golf umbrella

Daily Mail​

25-05-2025

This is the moment a patient who escaped from a secure psychiatric unit and went on to beat a grandmother to death was caught by police.
David Parish, 38, ran away from a mental health hospital in Taunton, Somerset after a door was left open and brutally attacked 'beloved' churchwarden Beryl Purdy, 86, with a makeshift weapon.
Before the attack, he locked Mrs Purdy's husband, Peter, in the kitchen of their home in the village of Broomfield, Somerset.
Mrs Purdy, known as 'Bez', tried to defend herself from the large golf umbrella he had taken from her garden but tragically suffered fatal head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene on March 27, 2023.
Parish was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia caused by smoking cannabis and had been detained temporarily under the Mental Health Act at the Rydon Ward in Taunton.
At Bristol Crown Court on Friday (May 23), Parish was jailed for six years, after previously pleading guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
And now, Avon and Somerset Police have released body-worn camera footage of the moment the killer was caught.
In the video, officers stop Parish on a dark country road and ask what he is doing in the area.
Parish gives his name as 'James' and claims he works at a nearby farm.
An officer then handcuffs Parish - telling him it's 'a bit strange [he's] up in the hills' given a recent incident in the area.
He then detains Parish, who does not resist, and searches him.
During Parish's sentencing at Bristol Crown Court, Honorable Mr Justice Saini told him: 'You killed Beryl Purdy, having attacked her in her own home with a large golfing umbrella.
'She was not known to you, and at the time you killed her, you had been able to walk out of a secure hospital unit where you had been detained under section 2 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
'I have had read to me the moving victim impact statements from Mrs Purdy's husband of 63 years, Peter.
'He has suffered the loss of his lifetime partner and best friend, known to him and her friends as Bez.
'He is reminded of the incident every time he goes into the room where she was found. This leaves him with anger and sadness and more recently, loneliness, to contend with every day.
'His loss is unimaginable.
'Nick, their son, describes how distressing it was to lose his mother because a door was left unlocked - and a man who should have been detained was able to enter his parents' home and kill his mother in such a violent manner..'
The court heard how Parish - who at the time was residing in a psychiatric unit at Wellsprings Hospital in Taunton - had absconded from the ward and made his way to the nearby village of Broomfield.
After leaving the unit, Parish went to a nearby barber and had his hair cut short and his beard shaved off.
Prosecutor Anna Vigars KC told the court how Parish then tried to pull a man from a car as he drove away from the car park in Fyne Court, a National Trust property in Somerset, but had been unsuccessful.
A short time later, Parish gained access to a home nearby. It was then that he brutally killed Mrs Purdy.
According to prosecutor Vigars, when Mrs Purdy was found, her head was 'covered in blood to the extent that it was difficult to see what her actual injuries were.'
Following Parish's sentencing, Mrs Purdy's family described her as a 'beloved wife, mother, and granny' - said they were 'serving a life sentence of torment' knowing they were 'unable to save' her.
They said in a statement: 'We would like to thank the police for their meticulous work in proving who was responsible for the brutal and fatal attack on our beloved wife, mother, and granny, Bez Purdy.'
Mrs Purdy's family then criticised the jail term, calling for tougher protections for the public.
'We are serving a life sentence of torment knowing that we were unable to save Bez from her attacker and the outcome of sentencing today also means that her attacker avoids a life sentence.
'We would not wish our hell on any other family and urge for a review of how the community can be protected from people with severe mental health issues.'
Meanwhile, in a statement released at the time of Mrs Purdy's death, they said: 'As a family, we are devastated to have lost a dearly loved wife, mother, and granny.
'Bez was a caring person who would help anyone in need and was very much part of the village, being a church warden for 20 years.
'We will miss her very much and we are all struggling to understand why this happened to such a lovely person.'
The father-of-two's mental health had deteriorated following the breakdown of his marriage in 2021.
The court heard that Parish believed he was receiving messages from birds and that he was under threat from people outside his home.
Ms Vigars told the court that after leaving the unit, Parish travelled to the vicinity of Mrs Purdy's home.
Her body was discovered behind the freezer by a neighbour after her husband raised the alarm he had been trapped in the kitchen by Parish.
'He then noticed two feet with black shoes on sticking out from behind the displaced fridge freezer,' Mrs Vigars said.
'He went to investigate and found that the feet belonged to the body of Mrs Purdy, which was crumpled against the wall with a washing basket on top of her.
'Mrs Purdy's head was covered in blood to the extent that it was difficult to see what her actual injuries were.'
The day before the attack, Parish was assessed under the Mental Health Act and detained at the Rydon Ward in Taunton.
'It was there that his parents went to visit him on Monday March 27,' Mrs Vigars said.
'Mr Parish seemed to them to be calmer. After a little time of family chat, Mr Parish said he wanted to use the toilet and he left his parents.
'He didn't return to his parents and they raised the alarm with staff at reception.
'Staff apologised, telling the family that the front door to the unit should have been locked, that the police had been alerted to the disappearance and that Mr Parish had been reported as a missing person.'
The court heard an investigation is underway into the circumstances of how Parish was able to leave the unit.