Care home accused of failing couple in dementia tragedy
THE family of a retired lecturer who killed his dementia- stricken wife and then himself said yesterday that the care system had failed the couple.
John Michael Parry, 81, smothered Meryl, his wife of 58 years, after residential home bosses decided they could not cope with her.
They ferried the 80-year- old back to her farmhouse and bundled her ‘like a farm animal’ through his front door only hours after Mr Parry had reluctantly sent her into care.
Mrs Parry’s brother, Huw Owen- Jones, told the Daily Mail the killing was an act of love by a husband driven to desperation.
‘If she hadn’t been sent back that night, this might never have happened,’ the 77-year-old said. ‘It doesn’t say much for their ability to care that they couldn’t handle her for more than six hours.’
Mr Owen- Jones said Michael and Claire Pratt, who run Greenlane care home near Brampton in Cumbria, should have realised Mr Parry was desperate.
He said his sister and brotherin-law ‘didn’t want to go into nursing homes so Mr Parry decided to end it for both of them – in the kindest way possible’. He added: ‘I hope what happened to my sister and her husband will mean more care is provided in future, particularly for people with no family nearby.’
Mr Parry – who was known as Michael – tried to take his own life after killing his wife on September 1. He was charged with murder but was found dead 48 hours before a court appearance.
Richard Chapman, West Cumbria’s deputy coroner, said it was reasonable for Mrs Pratt to conclude that Greenlane – which was not designated as secure – was unsuitable for Mrs Parry after she walked out and went missing.
‘What I think was unreasonable and regretful is that the decision to take her home was made that night,’ he added.
Mr Chapman said the home ‘should properly have accommodated Mrs Parry overnight’ before contacting social services in the morning to arrange more suitable accommodation.
He said Mr Parry acted out of ‘extreme agitation and exhaustion’ while fearing that his wife – a retired teacher – faced a deeply unhappy future. Concluding she had been unlawfully killed by her husband in what amounted to manslaughter, he said he would write to Cumbria social services asking them to ensure homes sought council advice before discharging residents. He said he would seek confirmation from Greenlane staff that they had changed their procedures. Mr Chapman made no criticism of the wider health and care system after hearing that Mr Parry was a ‘particular’ man who was reluctant to accept offers of support.
Mr Owen- Jones, a retired civil servant who lives in Australia, visited his brother-in-law in custody and said he had described his wife as an angel. The couple were enthusiastic walkers and yesterday a photograph of them emerged, showing the couple during a ramble. They had retired to a hamlet near the village of Ainstable 20 years ago.
The couple had one child, John, 52, who lives in the US.
Mr Parry, who taught philosophy, had sought a care home after realising he could not cope with his wife’s tendency to wander from their isolated property.
But the decision ended disas- trously when she was ‘ bundled through the door and her clothes which had been neatly folded were stuffed in garbage bags and dumped on the doorstep’.
After killing her he spent five weeks in custody before being bailed. He was found dead in the River Eden on December 18. The coroner recorded an open verdict on Mr Parry’s death, saying that while there was evidence to suggest he had committed suicide it was possible he had slipped or suffered a heart attack.
Mrs Pratt had told the inquest – held in Cockermouth – that she realised with hindsight she should not have sent Mrs Parry home that night.
But in a letter to the coroner her husband complained that the home was ‘ being portrayed as being callous and uncaring’.
‘Bundled through the door’