You are only as safe as your husband allows, says girls’ schools leader after head’s death
Suspected murder ‘shows how even successful and accomplished women are at risk of domestic abuse’
THE head of a group of leading girls’ schools has warned women they are “only as safe as your male partner allows you to be” in the wake of the suspected murder of Emma Pattison, the headmistress of Epsom College.
In a statement, Cheryl Giovannoni, chief executive of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), said establishing a successful career did not protect women from domestic violence.
George Pattison, 39, is suspected of murdering his 45yearold wife and sevenyearold daughter, Lettie, before killing himself. A firearm found at the scene was registered to him.
“It doesn’t matter how successful or accomplished or brilliant you are as a woman, you are only as safe as your male partner allows you to be,” Ms Giovannoni told the BBC.
It comes as The Daily Telegraph can reveal that Mr Pattison, a licensed gun owner, was due to be visited by police as part of routine security checks.
The chartered accountant, who was born in Jamaica, contacted police on Feb 2 to inform them that he had moved from the recently sold family home in Caterham to join his wife and daughter at the head’s house at Epsom College.
Police are obliged by the Home Office to “inspect the security of the new premises” when a gun certificate holder moves, even if they are remaining in the same police area. Surrey police referred itself to the independent watchdog because of the short time between its contact with Mr Pattison and the apparent murdersuicide.
It is thought that Mrs Pattison’s sister, Deborah Kirk, received a distressed phone call from the head teacher hours before she was killed. She is believed to have rushed to the scene with relatives where they found the bodies.
Yesterday Helen Walker, who has been Mrs Pattison’s friend since they worked together as ski holiday reps in Mühlbach, Austria, 16 years ago, posted a tribute on Facebook saying she and Lettie should not be thought of only as “victims of a cowardly man”.
She also shared a picture of Mrs Pattison and her daughter paddling on the beach in Walberswick, Suffolk, four years ago when they visited her home in Norfolk without Mr Pattison. Mrs Walker later deleted the reference to the suspected murderer from her page.
She said yesterday: “I don’t want to speculate on him in any way. I want people to envisage her and her daughter in a happy place. It’s a bit like when you have a terrorist attack. You shouldn’t focus on the perpetrator, you should focus on the victims.
“I know nothing of any domestic [issues]. I just know that they were beautiful and he put that light out.”
Mr Pattison has never been reported to the police, it is understood. However, in 2016, he complained to them that his wife had struck him during a domestic dispute, according to Officers arrived at their home but he withdrew the complaint, saying it was trivial. Shortly before Christmas, Mrs Pattison indicated in a podcast that her role leading Epsom College had placed the family under stress.
Meanwhile, neighbours at the fourbedroom home they sold in Surrey said they had seen Mr Pattison at the property before Christmas, but had not seen his wife or daughter since the summer. The detached house, rumoured to have been bought for more than £1million, recently underwent extensive renovations. One former neighbour said Mr Pattison liked “sporty cars”, “pottered around with his wine and his paper”, and seemed older than his years. He also “seemed to not work”, and one neighbour suggested that his wife may have been the family’s breadwinner.
Mr Pattison incorporated consultancy firm, Tanglewood, of which he was sole director, in 2016. In 2021 he took out a £14,076 director’s loan.
Causes of death will not be confirmed until postmortems have been completed this week.
‘I know nothing of any domestic [issues]. They were beautiful. He put out that light’