‘We don’t blame dad for killing mum, he was ill’

The children of a man who killed his wife in a psychotic episode, before killing himself, have told the BBC they do not blame their father for what happened.

Chris and Ruth Stone-Houghton died in September 2022 at their home in Portsmouth.

An inquest found there had been a “failure to fully support” the family after Chris was released from a psychiatric hospital a few weeks earlier.

Their son Oliver said “we don’t need to forgive him. I never questioned the fact that it was anything other than his illness.”

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said it had “learned lessons from this case” to improve care for patients in mental health crisis and their families.

Chris and Ruth were loving and caring parents, Oliver and Abbie Stone-Houghton said, and devoted to each other.

“We had such a brilliant childhood and even into their adult lives we were so close to both of them,” Abbie explained.

Chris ran a jewelry business in which Ruth had also worked. He had no previous mental health issues, but as the business struggled during the Covid pandemic, and ultimately closed in April 2022, he began experiencing delusional thoughts.

He became increasingly paranoid, mistakenly believing that his phone and computer were being listened to, and he was terrified that someone would attack him. He became withdrawn, looked visibly more fragile and had suicidal thoughts.

“He no longer felt like he had anything to offer,” recalls his son Oliver, now 30.

Chris was eventually diagnosed with psychotic depression and, in July 2022, attempted suicide.

He was sectioned and placed in a mental health ward at St James’s Hospital in Portsmouth, run by the local NHS trust, where the family thought he would spend several months.

Four weeks later, he was sent home against his family’s wishes. Ruth was “terrified” that her husband might self-harm further, the inquest heard.

Being a loving family worked against them, Oliver said, believing that staff felt “they didn’t have to worry as much about him coming home as maybe in other cases.”

“We didn’t really get any guidance on what to do or what not to do,” Abbie said. “We were just doing what we thought was right and really hoping for the best.”

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Denzel Mitchell, who worked at St James’s Hospital, said the decision to leave the hospital was made largely because Mr Stone-Houghton had not self-harmed or had psychotic episodes on the ward.

Coroner Rachel Spearing found that although the decision was “appropriate”, the manner in which it was carried out was “dangerous”, with an “inadequate risk assessment”.

Chris had a history of refusing antipsychotic medication at home and had to be persuaded to take it in hospital, but this was not adequately addressed. The family were not fully supported given the burden placed on them to ensure he took his medication, Ms Spearing added.

She found it “unlikely” that he had taken his medication at the time of death.

There was also a lack of access to support, the investigation found. Chris had not received psychological intervention at the hospital because the department did not have a psychologist.

Once back home, Chris was twice asked by his community crisis team for early intervention for the treatment of psychosis, the best and quickest option available, but this request was denied.

Chris was 66 and the NHS Trust age limit for service was 65.

“If he had had that treatment, we don’t know what would have happened,” Oliver said.

Chris was instead placed on a year-long waiting list for specialist talking therapy support.

The family was expected to alert the crisis team if they saw signs of relapse, the inquest heard, but no formal assessment was carried out for Ruth, 60, who cared for her husband.

On September 14, 2022, Chris killed Ruth at their family home in Portsmouth before taking his own life.. Coroner Rachel Spearing concluded he was “probably experiencing a psychotic episode”.

She said the deaths could not have been predicted and that Chris and Ruth were a “loving and happy” couple.

Oliver and Abbie said they were “extremely close” as a family and did not hold their father responsible for what happened.

“We both feel very strongly and know in our hearts,” Oliver said, “that [dad] was not capable of doing so as a sane and rational person, and that it was illness that caused these events to occur in this way.

“We’re not letting this affect our memories of the two of them.”

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said in a statement it expressed “our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Ruth and Christopher”.

He added: “We have learned from this case, and others, to continually improve the way we care and support people in mental health crisis and their families.”

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