Headteacher shot dead by husband called her sister for help moments before

11 December 2023 , 21:54

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Emma Pattison, 45, suffered coercive control from her husband before she was killed, her sister has said (Image: PA)

A headteacher who was shot dead by her husband had called her sister for help just moments for she was tragically discovered dead, it has emerged.

Emma Pattison, 45, her daughter Lettie, seven, and her husband George, 39, were all found dead at their home in the grounds of Epsom College on February 5.

Surrey Police confirmed a firearm was found at the scene, and believe Mr Pattison shot his wife and daughter before killing himself in a suspected murder-suicide.

Now, Emma’s sister Deborah Kirk has shared heartbreaking details of the final contact she had with her just moments before her death.

Emma, her daughter Lettie, seven, and husband George, 39, were all found dead at their home in the grounds of Epsom College on February 5 (PA)

Writing about Emma in The Sunday Times Magazine, she said that there had been an "altercation between her and her husband, George", and that her sister had called her and asked her to come over. But by the time Deborah arrived, George had already shot her sister, their daughter and then himself, with a sporting shotgun. She wrote: "My husband and I arrived at a silent house where no one was answering the door. No one was answering the door because they were all dead."

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Deborah also said she felt George was abusive, and that she had been the victim of coercive control. She revealed she had seen Emma a week before the deaths, and believed that she had made the decision to leave him. At the time, she had looked forward to her leaving the relationship and "looking back at this with amazement that she endured it for so long”.

A firearm found at the scene was legally registered to Mr Pattison. Police were reportedly told the couple were suffering with marriage problems at the time, and Mrs Pattison's job as a deputy headteacher of an independent school in Leatherhead had caused issues.

Mr Pattison, who was a fan of sports cars, was a chartered accountant. He was born in Jamaica with an English father and a mother from south-east Asia. The two had got married in 2011 and their daughter was born four years later. The inquest into the deaths has been delayed from last October, with the coroner still waiting for further disclosure from Surrey Police.

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Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas