‘We don’t blame dad for killing mum, he was ill’

The children of a man who killed his wife and took his own life during a psychotic episode have told the BBC they do not blame their father for what happened.

Chris and Ruth Stone-Houghton died at their home in Portsmouth in September 2022.

An investigation following Chris’ discharge from a psychiatric hospital weeks ago found the family “failed to provide full support”.

Their son Oliver said, “We don’t need to forgive him. I never once questioned whether it was anything other than his illness.”

The NHS trust in Hampshire has been approached for comment.

Oliver and Abbie Stone-Houghton said Chris and Ruth were loving and caring parents and were devoted to each other.

“We had such a wonderful childhood, we were both very close even as adults,” Abbie said.

Chris ran a jewelry business where Ruth also worked. He had not previously suffered from any mental health problems, but began experiencing delusional thoughts as the company found itself in a difficult situation during the Covid pandemic, which closed in April 2022.

He became increasingly paranoid, mistakenly believing that he was being tapped by his phone and computer, and feared that someone was trying to catch him. He became withdrawn, appeared noticeably weaker, and experienced suicidal thoughts.

“He felt like he had nothing to offer anymore,” his son Oliver, now 30, recalled.

Chris was eventually diagnosed with psychotic depression and attempted to take his own life in July 2022.

He was sectioned and placed in a mental health ward at St James’s Hospital in Portsmouth, run by the local NHS trust, where the family believed he would spend several months.

Within four weeks, he was discharged against the family’s wishes and sent back home. The inquest heard Ruth was “horrified” that her husband was harming himself further.

Oliver said being a loving family worked against them, with staff feeling they “didn’t have to worry about him coming home any more than they would in other situations.”

“We couldn’t get any advice on what we should or shouldn’t do,” Abbie said. “We were doing what we thought was right and really hoping for the best.”

Consultant psychiatrist at St James’s Hospital, Dr. Denzel Mitchell said the decision to discharge was taken largely because Mr Stone-Houghton had not self-harmed or had psychotic episodes on the ward.

Coroner Rachel Spearing found that although the decision was “appropriate”, the way it was implemented was “unsafe” due to “inadequate risk assessment”.

Chris had a history of refusing antipsychotic medication at home and had to be persuaded to take it in hospital. Ms Spearing added that the family were not fully supported because of the burden placed on them to ensure he took his medication.

It found it was “unlikely” he was taking his medication at the time of the deaths.

The investigation also heard that there was a lack of access to support. Chris did not receive psychological intervention at the hospital because there was no psychologist on the ward.

When he returned home, the community crisis team twice asked Chris for early intervention to treat his psychosis; this was the best and fastest option possible, but this was rejected.

Chris was 66 and the NHS trust cut-off age was 65.

“We don’t know what would have happened if he had used this treatment,” Oliver said.

Instead, Chris was placed on a one-year waiting list for private speech therapy support.

The plan was for the family to alert the crisis team if they noticed signs of a relapse, but there was no formal carer assessment for Ruth, 60, who was caring for her husband, the inquest heard.

On September 14, 2022, Chris killed Ruth at the family home in Portsmouth before taking his own life.. Coroner Rachel Spearing concluded he was “in the grip of a psychotic episode”.

He said the deaths were unpredictable and that Chris and Ruth were a “loving and happy” couple.

Oliver and Abbie said they were “extremely close” as a family and did not blame their father for what happened.

“We both feel that very strongly and we know in our hearts,” Oliver said. [dad] He said that as a sane, rational person he could not do this and that it was the disease that caused these events to happen this way.

“We don’t let it affect our memories of the two of them.”

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been approached for comment.

Representing the foundation in the investigation, Dr. Charlotte Hope said “we are constantly improving our services as an organisation” and “many” changes have been made since the couple’s deaths.

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