Market town jeweller, 66, was found hanged next to his wife's dead body after 'rapid deterioration' of his mental health during Covid, inquest hearing is told
A historic market town jeweller was found hanged near to his wife's dead body at their home after his mental health declined following the 'anxieties and challenges' of the covid pandemic, a coroner was told today.
The bodies of Christopher Stone-Houghton and his wife, Ruth, 60, were discovered following concerns over their welfare, a court heard.
A pre-inquest hearing was told Mrs Stone-Houghton had suffered fatal head injury, while paramedics tried unsuccessfully to revive her husband.
At the time police said they were not seeking anyone else in connection with the deaths.
Mr Stone-Houghton, 66, had suffered a 'sudden, rapid and critical deterioration' in his mental health shortly before the incident, a coroner said.
The family's jewellery business in Petersfield, Hampshire, had been forced to close during the pandemic.
Rachel Spearing KC, assistant coroner for Hampshire, told a pre-inquest review hearing that post-mortem examinations found that Mr Stone-Houghton died as a result of suspension, and the cause of death for Mrs Stone-Houghton was a head injury.
She said there had been multi-agency homicide and suicide reviews into the deaths.
Winchester Coroner's Court heard that concerns were first raised around Mr Stone-Houghton's mental health at Christmas 2021 and 'active steps' were taken in April of the following year.
Six weeks before his death in September 2022, the Portsmouth father was discharged after spending a month at an inpatient unit as a result of a 'serious incident'.
A lawyer acting for the family told the pre-inquest review there were 'significant problems' with the hospital care given to Mr Stone-Houghton particularly around medication monitoring and whether he was masking paranoid and delusional thoughts from staff.
Ms Spearing explained that the couple had been found at their home on September 14 but there was not any evidence of domestic abuse.
She said that Mr Stone-Houghton had both inpatient and community care, and he was last seen two days before his death.
The coroner said Mr Stone-Houghton felt 'anxieties and challenges during covid' and was 'experiencing suicidal ideation.'
'He received some inpatient care following a serious incident and was provided with some community care.
'In the months prior the family and friends had continued to express concerns about the care provided to (the Stone-Houghtons)'.
She said there had been a 'sudden, rapid and critical deterioration' of Mr Stone-Houghton's mental health, but there was no evidence of domestic abuse.
The full inquest - which will take place in December - will also look at the monitoring of Mr Stone-Houghton's gun licence, although a firearm was not used in the incident.
In a previous tribute on a fundraising page the couple's son, Oliver, said he was 'inexplicably devastated' by the loss of his parents.
In the message he explained that the jewellery business his father had worked at for 50 years and run for around 20 years had closed following the pandemic.
Oliver Stone-Houghton said: 'It's hard to put into words how much I miss you both.
'I'm inexplicably devastated beyond belief.'
In an online fundraising page posted last year the grieving son told how his father had no prior history of mental ill health when he was diagnosed with 'psychotic depression' in June 2022.
He said this followed a 'period of rapidly declining mental health in the lead up to and the closure of a business he had been a part of for over 50 years.'
Mr Stone-Houghton said that in the previous months, the coronavirus pandemic had 'removed many of the social ties Dad relied upon to relax and de-stress' and 'brought about incredibly stressful rule changes for the business and also impacted another business my parents ran together.'
He went on to say that his mother was 'killed' and his father 'ended his own life' during 'another psychotic episode' - just a day after the couple had enjoyed a day out with friends.
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