A mother who was beheaded by a Bulgarian schizophrenic as she shopped in a supermarket in Tenerife had no chance of defending herself, an inquest heard today.
Retired road safety worker Jennifer Mills-Westley, aged 60 and originally from Norwich, was shopping in a Chinese-owned store in the resort of Los Cristianos on May 13, 2011, when she was attacked.
A Spanish jury later ruled that Deyan Deyanov who murdered Ms Mills-Westley, was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time, and he was sentenced to 20 years in a secure unit in Seville.
Today, her daughter Sarah Mills-Westley attended the inquest at Norfolk Coroner's Court in Norwich with other family members.
Coroner Jacqueline Lake read out excerpts of the jury's verdict saying Ms Mills-Westley had been rendered defenceless by the brutal, abhorrent attack.
She said: 'Mr Deyanov picked up a ham slicing knife from a shelf.
'He attacked her from behind, stabbing her repeatedly in the neck until her head was completely severed.
'He then picked up her severed head and walked outside.
'Her capacity to react and defend herself or even runaway was completely impaired by the defendant.
'He ensured he could kill his victim without any risk to himself.'
Ms Lake said a post-mortem revealed Ms Mills-Westley had bled to death and that Deyanov had been in an 'acute' phase of schizophrenia at the time, meaning he could not discern reality.
The coroner returned a narrative verdict that Ms Mills-Westley died after an attack by a person she did not know from which she could not defend herself.
She added: 'This was an absolutely abhorrent event.'
The family declined to comment as they left the inquest.
Deyanov had previously been admitted to the Ablett psychiatric unit at Glan Clwyd Hospital, Bodelwyddan, near Rhyl in June 2010 while he stayed at a relative's home in Flint.
An independent report published by Healthcare Inspectorate Wales concluded there were 'clear shortcomings' relating to the care provided in North Wales.
It said: 'It is difficult to determine how these deficiencies may have directly influenced and led to the events of May 2011.
'However, we do not believe that had the issues that we identified within the report been addressed, that the likelihood of such an incident occurring might have been significantly reduced.
Speaking after the report was released, Ms Mills-Westley's daughters Sarah and Samantha, said that had staff not missed his serious medical problems, their mother may still be alive today.
In a statement they said: 'The Health Inspectorate of Wales report has highlighted a number of significant basic medical best practice failures.
'We are shocked to learn that the clearly prejudicial views of the medical staff severely compromised the diagnosis and therefore subsequent treatment of Deyan Deyanov.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2958954/Mother-60-no-chance-defending-beheaded-Tenerife-supermarket-Bulgarian-schizophrenic.html#ixzz3S8UBCLxw
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment