14 December 2023 , 12:56
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A pensioner with dementia was shot dead by her carer husband who then turned the gun on himself during the pandemic in a “perfect storm” of a tragedy, a review found.
Simon Johnson became wife Margaret’s carer in 2019 a year after her dementia diagnosis but said he was struggling and needed help, amid enquiries into potential private care. However when lockdown started in 2020 all services helping his wife were disrupted including a sitting service which was Mr Johnson's "only respite" in care. In April he insisted they were coping but in June Mrs Johnson suffered a fall, increasing his workload.
Finally, in October 2020 Mr Johnson called police to say he had shot his wife and planned to also shoot himself. The pair were found by emergency services and treated for gunshot wounds but both later died, EssexLive reported.
Now, a review of the circumstances of both deaths has been published by the Essex, Thurrock and Southend Domestic Abuse Board. The review said: "[Margaret's] fall had a significant impact on Alfred [Simon], who had discovered her in the hallway. He had tried to assist by moving her, not realising the seriousness of her injury. He had to summon the assistance of neighbours before emergency services arrived. The fall and the guilt that he felt for moving his wife continued to have an impact on him."
After the fall, Margaret continued to deteriorate and could no longer use the stairs in their home, something which caused Simon to be "very upset". On September 29, the care provider made a safeguarding referral due to Simon's behaviour towards his wife. They reported he had encouraged them to "slap her on the back" if she didn't eat, made her walk around their home in a demeaning way, and allegedly "picking her up, throwing her on the bed and having a go at her" after she fell over. At the beginning of October, the family were contacted about the incidents and said they were not aware of them but agreed to contact him. The next day he shot them both.
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The review said the "difficult circumstances" of the dementia was made worse by the Covid pandemic and that the situation was "the perfect storm" for the couple. The board also recommended Essex Police should work to "better understand" methods of informing other agencies about firearms licences.
In their conclusions, the board said: "This case, as others in the Essex area and wider have demonstrated, is that there is still the need for better consideration and implementation of the Care Act in relation to the assessment of carers and being able to support them. This has to been seen as a critical area, particularly as we rely on around 1 in 8 adults to provide care.
"For carers coming to terms with a close relative with dementia there should be support which helps them to understand what they are likely to encounter and how they can navigate this." The board said agencies needed to plan their home care services better - despite the strains of a pandemic - and stressed the need for a better understanding of "generational attitudes" and barriers to people being able to accept support. A total of 21 recommendations were made to various agencies in Essex for improvements and learning opportunities for the future.
Detective Superintendent Rob Kirby, Head of Major Crime, Economic and Cyber Crime at Essex Police, said: “Our thoughts remain with all who loved Margaret and Simon. We welcome the Domestic Homicide Review and have engaged with this review throughout to ensure we are doing all we can to support suicide prevention and share information regarding individuals holding gun licences more effectively.
“We have already begun to make the changes set out in the recommendations involving Essex Police’s work with GP practices across the county, Essex Safeguarding Adults Board, SETDAB and the Essex Integrated Care Board. This work will continue through the newly-formed working group and our inputs into the Essex Suicide Prevention Steering Board.”
An Essex County Council spokesperson said: “Essex County Council is fully committed to safeguarding vulnerable adults and to learning lessons when things do go wrong. The Essex Safeguarding Adults Board have been monitoring recommendations and actions in the report with all key partners to ensure they are being implemented.”