Latest news with #paranoidSchizophrenia
The Independent
23-05-2025
- The Independent
Patient who absconded from psychiatric unit jailed for killing pensioner
A patient detained under the Mental Health Act was able to leave a secure psychiatric unit after the front door was left unlocked and later went on to kill an elderly church warden at her home, a court heard. David Parish, 38, randomly attacked Beryl Purdy with a large golf umbrella he had taken from her porch and inflicted fatal head injuries. Before the attack, Parish had locked Mrs Purdy's husband, Peter, in the kitchen of their home in Broomfield, near Bridgwater, Somerset. 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. Bristol Crown Court heard he had been able to leave the unit on March 27 2023 after the front door had been left unlocked. Anna Vigars KC, prosecuting, said after leaving the unit, Parish had travelled to the vicinity of Mrs Purdy's home. Her body was discovered after her husband had alerted a neighbour because he had been trapped in the kitchen by Parish. It was another neighbour who found her body behind the freezer. '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.' A post-mortem examination found Mrs Purdy had died from blunt force trauma head injuries consistent with the use of the umbrella. At a previous hearing, Parish, of Halyard Drive, Bridgwater, pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. 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. The day before the attack, he 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. The judge, Mr Justice Saini, asked: 'What accountability has there been for the hospital that allowed Mr Parish to walk out? It is not Mr Parish's fault that he left. 'He was clearly meant to be detained under section two of the Mental Health Act. What's happened?' Mrs Vigars replied: 'As I understand it, there is an ongoing investigation. It may well be that the conclusion of this process will allow that process to make some progress.' In a victim impact statement, Mr Purdy said he and his family had been let down by the NHS. 'My lifetime partner and best friend, Bez Purdy, was brutally attacked and killed in our home,' he said. 'I'm reminded of the incident every time I enter the room where she was found, which leaves me with anger and sadness, and more recently, loneliness to contend with every day. 'I miss my wife terribly and wish we could share the memories we had over the 64 years of marriage that we shared.' Mr Purdy said he was temporarily living in a care home while he recovered from injuries sustained in recent falls but planned to return home. 'I'm nervous to return home, knowing that one day Bez's attacker will be released back into the local community,' he said. 'I feel let down by the NHS and the mistakes that were made that led to the death of Bez and the length of time it's taken to sentence the man that killed her. 'These are all troubling events on top of the grief and sense of loss I experience every day.' The couple's son, Nick, said his mother's death has had a 'lasting and damaging impact' on all members of the family. 'Hearing that someone had brutally attacked Bez in her home was distressing enough,' he said. 'To then learn that she died from her injuries was unbearable. Nothing can prepare you for that news.' He added: 'We will for ask the reassurance that what we've suffered could not possibly happen to anyone else.' Adam Vaitilingam KC, defending, said Parish's mental health had stabilised and he was no longer on medication. 'He feels intense shame about what he did and genuine remorse for what happened,' he said. 'He should have been and could have been kept secure, and in our submission, that is an important mitigating factor as well.' Parish was jailed for six years and told he would serve at least two-thirds of the sentence in custody before he could apply for parole. Passing sentence, Mr Justice Saini said: 'You killed Beryl Purdy when you attacked her in her own home with a large golfing umbrella. 'You had been detained in the unit under section two of the Mental Health Act and you should not have been able to leave the hospital. 'The psychiatric experts agreed that at the time you killed Mrs Purdy, you were in an episode of schizophrenic psychosis that reduces what would be murder to manslaughter. 'Your psychosis was, however, precipitated by the use of cannabis. 'Mr Purdy's health has meant he cannot be here. He is reminded of the incident every time he goes into the room where she was found. 'Their son, Nick Purdy, has described how distressing it is to lose his mother because the 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 way.' Speaking after the sentence, Detective Inspector Debbie Hatch said: 'This was a deeply tragic incident in which Bez lost her life in the most distressing of circumstances inside her own home. 'This case highlights the complex intersection between mental health and criminal justice.' A spokesman for the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the mental health unit, said: 'Our thoughts are with both families at what we realise will be a very difficult time. 'As is standard practice with tragic incidents like this, we conducted a full root cause analysis investigation to understand and review the unit's environment, to identify if there are any areas of learning that we can take forward for our future care and support to patients and families. 'This includes a review of security arrangements on Rydon ward, where appropriate changes have been made.'
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
'My son could so easily have been another Nottingham killer'
Two men with paranoid schizophrenia stabbed members of the public in separate attacks weeks before Valdo Calocane's killings in Nottingham – and all were under the care of the same NHS trust, the BBC has Easom-Cooper and Junior Dietlin injured six men in the stabbings in Nottinghamshire in weeks, Calocane - who also has paranoid schizophrenia - stabbed to death Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates on 13 June Healthcare NHS Trust has been criticised over its care of Calocane, and in response to the BBC's findings, apologised to those "affected for any aspects of our care that were not of the high standard our patients deserve". On 9 April 2023, Easom-Cooper stabbed a worshipper who was leaving an Easter Sunday service at St Stephen's Church in BBC has spoken to his victim, a man in his 40s, who survived. He did not wish to be said as a teenager, her son was under the care of child and adolescent mental health services (Camhs) in Nottingham."I started to routinely go into his room and I would find knives... I found an axe, my kitchen knives would quite often be in his room," she said she would take photos of the weapons, and inform police and mental health services whenever she came across them. According to Shelly, things massively deteriorated when Easom-Cooper turned the grips of a psychotic episode, he left Highbury Hospital - where he was due to be sectioned - to kill a friend before he was was then sectioned by the hospital - run by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - in July 2022 for three months, but Shelly says she told staff he was not ready to be discharged."He was not OK when he was released," she said. "There was no way he was going to take his medication and I told them that... it was literally just a time bomb waiting to happen."Easom-Cooper was placed in accommodation managed by a housing association, but Shelly said he was "unravelling" in the seven months he was there, and not taking his medication while under the care of the trust's community remembers her shock and frustration when she learned about her son's knife attack."I just bloody knew this was going to happen," she said. "I'm so sorry it happened. I really am. And as a mother, he's my son and he did that and that makes me feel quite ashamed." She said the stabbing could have been prevented if her son's paranoid schizophrenia had been taken more seriously."It's disgusting that it takes someone to either lose their life or be stabbed before somebody thinks 'oh, hang on a minute, maybe we need to do something here'. "The mental health services in Nottingham have routinely and systematically let him down and also the victim," she was sentenced to a hospital order in December 2023. Nine weeks before Easom-Cooper's attack, Junior Dietlin stabbed five "complete strangers" over a weekend in Nottingham and Mansfield in February what a prosecutor described as "a most odd and extraordinary case", Dietlin stabbed five men once in the right bicep and then ran away in separate of the men stabbed was former police officer Keith Grafton, who was walking home from a pub in Mansfield."Suddenly, [there was] a quick thump on my right arm... I know I've been stabbed straight away because I felt the knife going into my skin," the 71-year-old says his attacker then ran off before he could "get anywhere near him".He said although the attack did not leave any lasting injuries, he was now "very wary" about going out late at was sentenced to a hospital order, but Keith says he was "disappointed" Dietlin did not receive a prison sentence. The BBC has seen a report conducted by the trust into its contact with said during a four-week stay at Highbury Hospital in June 2022, Dietlin was involved in violent incidents with staff and diagnosed with paranoid report said his family "could not express the wish that he remain in hospital a while longer".It added that, after his discharge, he took his medication "very irregularly".The family, the report added, "felt they were in a good position to observe subtle changes" in Dietlin's behaviour "that indicated he was unwell", but when community staff visited, they concluded there were "no signs of psychosis".Dietlin stabbed his first victim on 8 February 2023, and the report said he was visited by staff for a medication drop the next 11 and 12 February, he stabbed four more weeks after, the trust conducted an "initial management review", from which they "did not identify any learning", according to the a statement, the trust said these reviews are "completed straightaway to establish if there is any immediate learning while the full investigation is being completed". Earlier this year, an NHS England commissioned review into Calocane's care found major failings by the trust. Dietlin's incident was highlighted among 15 in that report of patients "either under the current care of the trust or who had been discharged from the trust, perpetrating serious violence towards members of the community" between 2019 and independent review concluded the trust has an "absence of a robust approach to risk management".Keith Grafton said he did not know Dietlin's history of mental health issues, nor that he had been previously believes the decision to discharge his attacker into the community was "a big failing" by the trust, whom he blames for what happened to him."If they'd done their job properly, then it wouldn't have happened," he added. Nottingham was brought to a standstill on 13 June 2023 in the wake of the attacks carried out by Calocane, who was sentenced to a hospital order in January had been sectioned four times in under two years before his attacks, but was discharged by the trust because he "disengaged" from its community mental health team in September meant there was no contact between Calocane and mental health services, or his GP, for about nine months before the of Calocane's medical records were revealed in a BBC Panorama documentary and the NHS commissioned report, which also stated that "the system got it wrong" with the triple killer. Shelly said she felt the missed opportunities in Calocane's care mirrored her son's added: "When I became aware of the facts, I thought that could have so easily have been Josef... I just remember thinking 'you know what? I'm glad he's in hospital'."Those poor people had their lives cut short in such hideous ways for no reason, just because we're not putting proper time and effort into making sure that people are well enough to walk the streets."Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of mental health charity SANE, said the BBC's findings show that had the trust learned lessons from Dietlin and Easom-Cooper, then Calocane's killings could have been prevented."Their failings were failure to listen to the families, failure to watch the person... and the failures to protect both the patient and then the public by discharging them far too early when they are too ill," she said. 'Apologise to those affected' Neil Hudgell, a solicitor representing the families of Calocane's victims, said the BBC's findings showed "that very little ever resonates as it should with mental health trusts, and potentially had they learned effectively enough over the years, the events of 13 June 2023 would not have happened"."The families continue to rage at the incredibly sad and needless loss of the lives of their much-missed loved ones," he a statement, Dr Sue Elcock, deputy chief executive and executive medical director at the NHS trust, said: "I want to reassure people that following any serious incident, we carry out an investigation in order to identify any areas for learning and improvement."We apologise to those affected for any aspects of our care that were not of the high standard our patients deserve."The statement added the trust had "a more robust patient discharge policy and a sharper focus on assessing and managing any risks patients may pose to others".Dr Elcock added: "We have made significant changes to improve family engagement, and the involvement of patients and their families and our family liaison team is included in all considerations."On Thursday, the government confirmed the public inquiry into the attacks was under way, and will report back within two years with recommendations to prevent similar incidents. Timeline 8 February 2023: Junior Dietlin stabs his first victim close to his home in Nottingham11 and 12 February 2023: Dietlin stabs four other strangers in separate attacks 9 April 2023: A worshipper is stabbed outside a church in Nottingham by Josef Easom-Cooper 11 April 2023: Easom-Cooper is charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent13 June 2023: Valdo Calocane stabs to death Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates, and seriously injures Wayne Birkett, Sharon Miller and Marcin Gawronski in NottinghamDecember 2023: Easom-Cooper is sentenced to a hospital order 25 January 2024: Calocane is given a hospital order after admitting manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility and attempted murder12 April 2024: Dietlin is detained indefinitely under hospital order
Times
09-05-2025
- Times
Nottingham attack survivor: I wish Valdo Calocane had killed me instead
A survivor of the Nottingham attacks has described wishing the killer had 'taken me instead of the students'. Sharon Miller, 46, was on her way to her work as a commercial cleaner when she was struck by Valdo Calocane, 33, as he ploughed a van into pedestrians in the east Midlands city in the early morning of June 13, 2023. The paranoid schizophrenic had fatally stabbed two university undergraduates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65, an hour earlier at 4am. He was charged with their murders, along with the attempted murders of three pedestrians, Miller, Wayne Birkett and Marcin Gawronski, but is serving an indefinite hospital order after he was allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility. Miller
Times
09-05-2025
- Times
Nottingham attack survivor: I wish the killer had taken me instead
A survivor of the Nottingham attacks has described wishing the killer had 'taken me instead of the students'. Sharon Miller, 46, was on her way to her work as a commercial cleaner when she was struck by Valdo Calocane, 33, as he ploughed a van into pedestrians in the east Midlands city in the early morning of June 13, 2023. The paranoid schizophrenic had fatally stabbed two university undergraduates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65, an hour earlier at 4am. He was charged with their murders, along with the attempted murders of three pedestrians, Miller, Wayne Birkett and Marcin Gawronski, but is serving an indefinite hospital order after he was allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility. Miller
