A mother who battered an elderly church warden to death in a supermarket with a wine bottle was ‘insufficiently assessed’ by a mental health team in the weeks before the tragedy, a coroner has ruled.
Schizophrenic Zara Radcliffe, 34, turned on grandfather John Rees, 88, after she launched a knife attack inside a village Co-op in South Wales and he bravely tried to intervene.
Pontypridd Coroners Court was told she was under the care of the community mental health team after leaving hospital – but was ‘insufficiently assessed and addressed’ before she went on to kill.
Mr Rees had left his childhood sweetheart wife Eunice, 87, in the car outside as he did the shopping and tried to stop Radcliffe, a mother-of-one, attacking a shopper.
But she turned on him with two wine bottles and a fire extinguisher in the aisles of the supermarket and Mr Rees died from severe facial injuries. Three other shoppers were also hurt.
Schizophrenic Zara Radcliffe, 34, who battered an elderly church warden to death with a wine bottle was ‘insufficiently assessed’ by a mental health team in the weeks before the tragedy, a coroner has ruled
The mother-of-one turned on grandfather John Rees (seen with his wife Eunice), 88, after she launched a knife attack inside a village Co-op in Penygraig, South Wales, and he bravely tried to intervene
CCTV captured Radcliffe on her way to the shop before the attack. She has since pleaded guilty to manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility and an additional three charges of attempted murder
Brave Mr Rees saved nurse Gaynor Saurin when he tried to tackle Radcliffe and was posthumously awarded the Queens medal for gallantry.
Radcliffe was arrested following the attack in May 2020 and went on to tell police: ‘I knew I was going to kill someone today.’
Radcliffe later admitted manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility and was sentenced to a hospital order that October.
As well as the attack on Mr Rees, Radcliffe also pleaded guilty to three charges of attempted murder of Lisa Way, 53, Mr Price, 58, and Ms Saurin.
She had been released from a mental hospital just months before the fatal attack but had not been taking her medication.
The coroner ruled she had been ‘insufficiently assessed and addressed’ – and he recorded a narrative verdict to say Mr Rees had been unlawfully killed.
Coroner Graeme Hughes said: ‘Whilst visiting the convenience store John Rees was beaten and killed. His assailant was convicted of manslaughter.
‘At the time of the acts that caused his death, his assailant’s psychosis was not being medicated and her risk of harm to others was insufficiently assessed and addressed.
‘The deceased was unlawfully killed. His assailant was suffering from psychosis which was unmedicated and not being assessed or managed at the time of or approximate to the events leading to his death.’
The inquest heard her family had been worried about the care she received from mental health services at the time of the tragedy.
Her sister Kylie said the pair were ‘very close’ and would ‘do everything together’ but Zara had spent more than two months in hospital after hearing ‘voices’ in her head at the end of 2019 and believed doctors were conspiring against her.
She said: ‘She came out of hospital and she was ok but there wasn’t any after care.
‘I had a feeling something would happen and it would take something serious for them to realise how ill she was.’
The inquest heard Radcliffe battered defenceless Mr Rees with a bottle until it broke and then used another one to hit him to the face and head 21 times as he lay on the floor.
Mr Hughes said the post mortem examination confirmed the death was caused by ‘severe blunt force facial injuries by some 23 heavy blows from wine bottles and three heavy blows from a fire extinguisher.’
Mr Hughes said: ‘John was a private, quiet, and humble man, satisfied to concentrate his love on Eunice, his grandchildren and All Saints Church where he was a warden and had been ringing the bells on a Thursday night.’
Radcliffe was arrested inside the shop in Penygraig, and later sentenced to a hospital order. Police are seen at the scene of the murder in May 2020
Mr Rees had left his childhood sweetheart wife Eunice, 87, in the car outside as he did the shopping that day
Brave Mr Rees saved nurse Gaynor Saurin (seen) when he tried to tackle Radcliffe and was posthumously awarded the Queens medal for gallantry
Lisa Way (left), a nurse, and Andrew Price (right) were Radcliffe’s other targets in the supermarket
Radcliffe was arrested inside the shop in Penygraig, and later sentenced to a hospital order.
For an inquest, Mr Hughes said it was ‘unusual’ because it would focus on Radcliffe and her care ‘rather than the deceased’.
The hearing comes after an independent review said ‘warning signs’ of Radcliffe’s ‘rapid deterioration’ were apparent months before the attack.
The report said the dangers were either ‘not recognised or poorly processed’ and there was ‘no negotiated crisis plan’ before she was discharged from hospital.
Paul Mears, chief executive of Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, said staff had learned since the tragedy ‘to ensure we continually focus on the delivery of high quality, safe and effective care to the service users and carers in contact with our mental health inpatient services’.
Following the hearing Rhondda Cynon Taf Council apologised to Mr Rees’ family and anyone else affected and said it ‘will now work with its partners to review the conclusion and address any areas for improvement identified in the verdict’.
Radcliffe was sentenced in October 2020 and detained indefinitely with a hospital order.
During that hearing, prosecutor Michael Jones KC said Mr Rees’ efforts to stop Radcliffe was ‘a selfless and brave act which cost him his life’.
Mr Rees was described as ‘the very definition of a good man, extremely respected and liked in the community’ by his family.
