KILLINGS OF ELDERLY COUPLE ‘AVOIDABLE’ FAMILY ‘SHATTERED’ BY REPORT FINDINGS
THE daughter of an elderly couple from Portadown killed by a man with severe mental health issues has said she can finally grieve after a report confirmed their deaths were avoidable.
Michael and Marjorie Cawdery, both 83, were beaten and stabbed to death in May 2017 by paranoid schizophrenic Thomas McEntee.
An independent panel appointed by health authorities to investigate the deaths has completed a report into the killings.
The investigation found that McEntee’s actions on the day the Cawderys died occurred in “the context of a significant deterioration” in his mental health. It concluded the deaths “could not have been predicted but could have been avoided”.
Wendy Little Cawdery told
❝ Those mental health patients who lead chaotic lifestyles ... must be handled very carefully
the BBC getting to the truth had been a “frustrating” experience.
She said she hoped vital lessons would be learned and that her family could move on with their lives.
“We haven’t been able to do that yet because we’ve been in a battle to survive and get the truth,” she said.
“That whole process of grieving hasn’t kicked in yet.”
Her husband Charles Little said the family were “broadly content” with the investigation but said mental health patients needed careful handling.
“The fact that the incident could not be predicted is no defence — it is the very unpredictability of behaviour of those mental health patients who lead chaotic lifestyles that means they must be handled very carefully
if they are to remain in the community,” Mr Little added.
An independent panel was appointed to conduct a serious adverse incident review, which has now been shared with relatives.
A Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The HSC will now take time to carefully consider the report and its recommendations and will involve the families in this process.
“We fully recognise the enormous distress that the families affected by this tragedy have suffered and we would unreservedly apologise for this.
“It is essential we learn from this tragic incident and put steps in place to reduce the risk of the possibility of something similar happening in the future.
“There is also a commitment to ensuring that we enhance how we engage with all impacted families affected in these difficult circumstances.
“The HSC would also like to express its gratitude to the panel for the diligent and professional manner in which they conducted this review.”
Last June, McEntee received a life sentence for the double manslaughter, with a minimum jail term of 10 years.
The court case heard that authorities missed chances to take McEntree off the streets, including that he visited hospital four times in the days before the killings.