They fought so much... I feared one of them would end up dead
THE daughter of a woman stabbed to death on Christmas Day feared one of her parents “would end up dead”.
Thomas Bryan’s relationship with his wife Vivienne had been “deteriorating” for several months in the lead up to the death of Mrs Bryan, her daughter Angela told Caernarfon Crown Court.
A jury heard there had been several fights and rows between the couple, who had moved to live next door to their daughter in Fairbourne, Gwynedd, in August 2018.
Ms Bryan said her mother was unhappy at moving to the seaside village and had blamed her husband for the move.
She told the court her mother had said: “My life’s hell and I’m going to make his life hell.”
Thomas Bryan denies the murder of his wife Vivienne at their home on Christmas Day last year.
He also denies an alternative charge of manslaughter.
Cross-examined by defence counsel Ian Unsworth QC, Ms Bryan described several of the incidents between her parents.
The jury heard of an incident when Bryan was found outside his house in a distressed state following another argument.
He told his daughter “your mother’s evil”.
In another incident, Ms Bryan and her father hid a petrol can used to store fuel for a lawn mower after her mother threatened to burn the house down.
Last September her father came to her house bleeding from a cut hand and claiming he had been stabbed by her mother as he slept in bed.
Ms Bryan found her mum intoxicated but physically well and said they’d had a row after Bryan threatened to leave her.
A few days after the alleged stabbing incident, Mrs Bryan went missing from her home and was found on the seafront and brought back to the house.
She later took an overdose of painkillers and was rushed to hospital and the family were warned she may not survive. But she recovered and was discharged after two weeks in hospital.
Ms Bryan said she was concerned her mother had been allowed home without a mental health assessment and support in place.
She took her mum to see a psychiatrist at Dolgellau in early November and told the doctor she was concerned the situation between her parents was worsening and feared “one of them would end up dead”.
Ms Bryan added that alcohol was an issue with both her parents.
She said: “Dad liked to drink and mum tried to stop him – and quite rightly so.”
She said Mrs Bryan had constantly tried to stop him drinking and she had thrown bottles away, smashed bottles and poured alcohol down the sink.
He was not violent towards her mother, having only struck her on the wrist once when she was threatening to take tablets, she said.
Her mother also drank alcohol and Ms Bryan saw bruises suffered from falls due to drinking.
On one occasion her father had struck the windscreen of a car to stop her driving while under the influence, Ms Bryan told the court.
She told the jury her parents were private people who kept themselves to themselves.
Her father spoke little to her but since the events of last Christmas had “opened up” and had told her he loved her and apologised for not hugging her enough.
The family hailed from the Cannock area of Staffordshire and after selling their house they had lived on a canal boat and a caravan in Talacre before moving to Fairbourne.
Concluding her evidence, Ms Bryan said the situation was one of “bad decisions and missed opportunities”.
Later the jury heard the two 999 calls made to police and the ambulance service shortly after 8pm last Christmas Day.
Footage from a police body worn camera of Bryan’s arrest was also shown to the court.
The trial continues.