Latest news with #SurreyCoroner'sCourt
Daily Mirror
19-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
'My friend was killed on school run by vile ex - she made a chilling prediction'
A new series of Killer Britain with Dermot Murnaghan delves into the shocking stabbing of a young mother on the school run and reveals heartbreaking details about her final moments It was a crime that shocked Britain - the violent murder of a mum while on the school run by her estranged partner, and in front of their three-year-old daughter. Ricardo Godinho repeatedly stabbed ex-wife Aliny Godinho in broad daylight, and in front of other terrified mothers, as she walked with her little girl to collect her two sons from school in Epsom, Surrey. A court later heard how the distraught girl told a witness immediately after seeing her father kill her mother in 2019: "Mummy's not coming back". Now, in a new episode of Killer Britain with Dermot Murnaghan, which has uncovered new details of the case, a friend reveals new information about the days and hours before the mum-of-three's harrowing death. And she reveals how a shocked bystander who witnessed the murder made the extraordinary gesture of letting the dying mother know that her daughter had not been hurt as she took her last breaths. Aliny, 39, had just stepped off the bus with her daughter when Godinho, 41, launched the terrifying attack with a kitchen knife on February 8, 2019. The couple, who had moved together from Brazil to live in the UK, had separated in December 2018. Godinho, who had followed them in his car, was later arrested and confessed to the crime, but he would only admit to manslaughter during his trial. During the inquest, Surrey Coroner's Court heard the attack happened in just 17 seconds as Mrs Godinho held their young daughter's hand. Prosecutors said the crime was premeditated and motivated by 'his anger and resentment that his wife was seeking a new life for her and her children." He was found guilty of murder and possessing an offensive weapon by Guildford Crown Court and sentenced to life with a minimum of 27 years in July 2019. However, when he was transferred to a prison in Brazil in 2022, it meant his sentence was changed to 30 years in jail. Lucienne Monteiro, a Brazilian friend of Aliny in the UK, told the programme that the mother knew that her ex-husband wanted to kill her, but believed he would never harm her if she was with their daughter, who was Godinho's 'favourite' child. She remembers: 'I asked her, 'Aliny, do you think Ricardo will do anything bad to you?' And then she said to me, 'I think if you get to him in a bad moment and I am alone without the children he would do it. But if I am with one of the children, he wouldn't do it. So, she believed that she was safe because of the children. 'So, from that week, she took her little child, the girl with her to school every day, because she felt protected. The little one was his favourite one. So, she thought like he won't hurt her.' She remembers finding out her worst fears had come true: 'We were watching TV or something when my phone rang. And then when I picked up the phone, a friend of ours, he said, Aliny has just being killed, stabbed by Ricardo. I threw my telephone away and I started screaming I never felt so bad in my life like that day. 'She didn't have the time to defend herself. She didn't have any marks on the arm or anything, it was really fast. They said that he stabbed her and then as she was falling down he kept stabbing her, without saying anything. And then when he'd done that, he just look at his little one and then he walk away.' But she reveals one moment that has given her comfort. "As a mother, I guess you can imagine in your mind, to be going that way and scared that something was happening with her little one,' she says. "So this lady came and said to her, 'your baby's OK'. So I hope she went in peace." The Crime+Investigation series episode, which airs tonight, also revealed that Godinho had been following Aliny's movements without her knowing, by using the Find My iPhone to track where she was - despite being told by police not to make contact with Aliny or their children following accusations of abusive behaviour and coercive control. He had also found a way to read her messages and emails, and was a member of a WhatsApp group that Aliny's friends used to support her without them knowing. Portuguese journalist Duarte Mendonça explained: "He had access to an old SIM card that used to belong to Aliny and no one in that group ever noticed it. So, for the longest time, Ricardo was able to keep track of every single conversation of every single move, and it was only up until the day that Ricardo decided to leave the group. 'And they saw the stamp mark saying, 'Aliny has left the group' the group realised that he was there the whole time.' But despite breaking his bail conditions many times, no further action was taken by police. It was later found that Godinho had been using Google to search for how a Brazilian man had murdered his wife. Friend Luciene also remembered how Aliny was reluctant to go to the police about the danger she felt she was in. 'She says: 'Somebody from his family sent her a message saying that Ricardo said that he was going to kill her. So, I told her, to go to the police and showed this message from this person. And then she said to me that she didn't want to cause any problems between him and this person of his family. She was really worried about the relationship between those people.' It was on the day of her death when Aliny realised Godinho had access to her emails, WhatsApp messages and location, and reported it to the police at 11.30am - but continued on her daily routine, picking up her children from school. In the afternoon she started the school run at 2:38 p.m. CCTV captured Aliny catching the bus from where she was staying in Streatham to Epsom, along with her daughter, getting off the bus at 2:55 pm. Godinho, who had tracked her using Find My iPhone, was waiting for them in his pick-up truck when they got off. He mounted the grass verge alongside where they were walking, jumped out the vehicle and started stabbing her repeatedly, before dropping the murder weapon and driving off. He began to drive to a police station to surrender, but his vehicle was stopped, and he was arrested around an hour and a half after the attack. Psychologist Emma Kenny told the programme: "When you think about how Godinho attacks Aliny, it's on the school run. It's in front of other parents, it's in front of his three-year-old daughter, that is so symbolic of how fixated he was on ending her life. He doesn't care about witnesses. He doesn't care about the future.' It showed the murder was premeditated. 'He said, 'It wasn't my fault. It was a heat of the moment thing. It was manslaughter. I was driven to it essentially'. But the problem with that is that manslaughter would show that there was no premeditation, the level of premeditation and the execution of the actual crime shows a huge amount of planning behind it.' Friend Luciene says she will never forget her. She says: 'She was like my little sister, but he was my friend. I never thought like he would do something this to her because Aliny, she was like, I think she was not from this planet. She was so kind, so calm. So nice, full of grace, harmless. She was like this. She was so sweet.'
BBC News
14-03-2025
- BBC News
Surrey: Carers not told of pool risk before man death
A care home boss should have told staff not to jump in a pool before a man with Down's syndrome died on holiday, an inquest Parker, 43, died on 12 June 2023 after his carer "landed on him" in a swimming pool while he was on a supported holiday in Tarragona, inquest, which concluded on Friday, confirmed Mr Parker's cause of death was acute respiratory failure following a spinal cord injury. "This was caused when a carer collided with Mr Parker in a hotel swimming pool," the coroner added. Mr Parker was on holiday with residents from The Grange care home in Bookham, Surrey, where he an inquest into his death, assistant coroner Krestina Hayes found the trip leader did not warn staff before or during the holiday that they and the clients were not allowed to jump into the hotel worker Harry Beckwith told Surrey Coroner's Court that the day before the incident, members of the group – including himself and Mr Parker – were jumping into the pool and no-one had told them it was not Hayes said the rule about the pool was not part of the risk assessment and the assessment was not checked by The Grange health and safety lead.A dynamic risk assessment was carried out at the pool by the trip leader but the support worker involved in the accident had not been told about the results, Mrs Hayes found. The coroner said Mr Parker jumped into the swimming pool the day before the accident and was told it was not the leader did not tell the carer, who was involved in the accident, that Mr Parker had jumped in, Mrs Hayes found the leader failed to remind carers that no-one on the trip was allowed to jump support worker Joanna Henderson said she asked Mr Parker not to jump into the pool when she saw him doing so on 10 Grange has been contacted for comment. Additional reporting from PA Media.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Huge opportunity missed' to help woman, family say
A vulnerable woman with schizophrenia who lay dead in her flat for more than three years was "left to fend for herself", her family said. Laura Winham, 41, was found dead in a flat in Woking, Surrey, by her mother and brother, Marilyn and Roy Winham, in May 2021. In a statement following the conclusion of an inquest into her death on Tuesday, Ms Winham's family said there was a "huge opportunity missed" to take action after police raised concerns that she had little food or money. The inquest ruled her cause of death was "unascertained" and a time of death could not be pinpointed, but a calendar in Ms Winham's flat had dates crossed off until 1 November, 2017. In a statement read by the family's solicitor, Iftikhar Manzoor, they added: "Laura was clearly a person potentially at risk but she wasn't deemed worthy of visiting. She was left to fend herself. "Laura was a much-loved, much-missed daughter and sister. Her family did everything in their power to support her as she battled her mental health struggles until it became apparent that she may harm herself unless they backed away." Initially held in October 2024, the inquest heard that Ms Winham's "mummified and almost skeletal" body had been found at her social housing property in Devonshire Avenue in May 2021. Ms Winham's sister, Nicky Winham, told Surrey Coroner's Court in October that Laura had twice been sectioned and cut off contact with her family because she believed they were trying harm her. Luke Addams, director of practice, assurance and safeguarding at Surrey County Council, told the inquest that the authority "could have done more" for Ms Winham. Coroner Karen Henderson ruled there were "lost opportunities" for multiple agencies in the run-up to her death, including Woking Borough Council and its former contractor, New Vision Homes, the Department for Work and Pensions, and Surrey County Council's adult social care team. Dr Henderson described the county council's adult social care team investigation as "perfunctory in almost every way" but added that it was not possible to conclude these lost opportunities "materially contributed" to Ms Winham's death. The court previously heard that Ms Winham's family last saw her in person in 2009, and contact over social media had stopped in 2014 after she sent them a message on Facebook which read: "It is best to have minimum/no contact. And communications with the family. "It is totally out of my hands. There is nothing I can do. Everything I say will get repeated and relayed back. Be patient." The family said they believed they were doing the right thing by respecting Ms Winham's wishes to have no contact with them. Her sister Nicky told the court: "We knew that contact with us exacerbated her mental health difficulties." Ms Winham's mother and brother found her remains after trying to make contact in January 2021 when her father's health was deteriorating. The inquest previously heard that Ms Winham had written that she was "starving" in calendar entries. She also expressed her fears about doing food shops, with a diary entry in October 2017 reading: "Whole month since my last food shop. I can't believe I'm surviving this long." Dr Henderson also ruled that, had Woking Borough Council and New Vision Homes – WBC'S landlord contractor from 2015 to April 2022 – flagged Ms Winham as vulnerable then it would have been evident she required further assistance. The coroner also said the DWP should have been "more proactive" after Ms Winham's Disability Living Allowance benefit was stopped due to her not applying for a Personal Independence Payment. The court heard she chose not apply because "she could not cope with the invasive medical check-up". Claire Edgar, executive director of adults, wellbeing and health partnerships at Surrey County Council, apologised for Ms Winham's care and said it had "worked hard to act on learning from this case". Continuing the family statement outside the coroner's court, Mr Manzoor said: "They [Ms Winham's family] believed Laura would be in the best possible hands when handing her into the care of professionals – people with much more knowledge and understanding of supporting those with serious mental health issues. "Sadly in this instance that was not the case. "The safeguarding review made it clear that Laura was never failed by her family. "They sought professional help but input was lost from people who truly loved her. "Laura and her family need a system that cared enough about vulnerable person. "Laura's death must act as a catalyst for change." Additional reporting by PA Media. Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, on X. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Social services 'could have done more' for Laura - inquest Vulnerable woman felt 'starving' hunger - inquest Family's 'horrifying discovery' of body in flat HM Courts & Tribunals Service
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Man told not to jump in pool before death
A Surrey man who died after his carer jumped into a swimming pool and "landed on him" was told not to jump into the pool himself, an inquest has heard. Michael Parker, who had Down's syndrome, died on 12 June 2023 while on holiday in Spain, when Harry Beckwith is said to have landed on him while jumping into a hotel pool. An inquest heard a senior carer told Mr Parker, 43, not to jump into the pool in Salou while on holiday with residents and staff from The Grange care home in Bookham, Surrey. Support worker Joanna Henderson told Surrey Coroner's Court in Woking that she had told Mr Beckwith to be "extra vigilant". Giving evidence on Tuesday Ms Henderson said she asked Mr Parker not to jump into the pool on 10 June. She said the holiday group were good swimmers and had regular sessions at The Grange's own swimming pool. Swimmers are not allowed to jump into The Grange pool and Ms Henderson told the court she expected those rules to apply to the hotel pool for their clients and staff. Asked if she assumed Mr Beckwith would understand that such rules would be in place, she said: "Yes, because he was there to do a job. He wasn't there to enjoy himself, he was there to support the guys." The inquest heard that a dynamic risk assessment had been carried out around the pool when the party arrived at the hotel. The inquest earlier heard how, while both jumping into the pool, Mr Beckwith "landed on" Mr Parker and he "sank to the bottom". The inquest continues. Additional reporting by PA Media. Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, on X. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Man died after carer 'landed on him' in pool - inquest HM Courts and Tribunals Service
BBC News
18-02-2025
- BBC News
Surrey: Man told not to jump into Spain swimming pool
A Surrey man who died after his carer jumped into a swimming pool and "landed on him" was told not to jump into the pool himself, an inquest has Parker, who had Down's syndrome, died on 12 June 2023 while on holiday in Spain, when Harry Beckwith is said to have landed on him while jumping into a hotel inquest heard a senior carer told Mr Parker, 43, not to jump into the pool in Salou while on holiday with residents and staff from The Grange care home in Bookham, worker Joanna Henderson told Surrey Coroner's Court in Woking that she had told Mr Beckwith to be "extra vigilant". Giving evidence on Tuesday Ms Henderson said she asked Mr Parker not to jump into the pool on 10 said the holiday group were good swimmers and had regular sessions at The Grange's own swimming are not allowed to jump into The Grange pool and Ms Henderson told the court she expected those rules to apply to the hotel pool for their clients and if she assumed Mr Beckwith would understand that such rules would be in place, she said: "Yes, because he was there to do a job. He wasn't there to enjoy himself, he was there to support the guys."The inquest heard that a dynamic risk assessment had been carried out around the pool when the party arrived at the inquest earlier heard how, while both jumping into the pool, Mr Beckwith "landed on" Mr Parker and he "sank to the bottom".The inquest continues. Additional reporting by PA Media.
