Caroline Adeyelu, 64, was stabbed to death by her paranoid schizophrenic son Nicolas Aina, 28, in Dagenham
Two NHS trust and The Met have been slammed for a ‘lack of communication’ after a woman was stabbed to death by her mentally ill son. Caroline Adeyelu, 64, was stabbed to death by her paranoid schizophrenic son Nicolas Aina, 28, in Dagenham on October 30 2022.
On the night of her death, Nicolas went into his sister’s room at 9pm at night. He said to her: “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you. You’re a witch,” and stabbed her in the chest, arm, wrist and thigh, The Old Bailey was told.
Caroline heard her daughter yelling and went to help by pulling Nicolas off her. However, she was overpowered and was attacked, dying at the scene.
Corner Nadia Persaud ruled that ‘serious failures /inaction’ by North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT), and East London Foundation NHS Trust (ELFT) ‘contributed’ to Caroline’s death. The 64-year-old was fatally stabbed in the chest after Nicolas had stopped taking his medication so he could lose weight, reports The BBC.
She had told NELFT that she was scared of being around her son, but was told to evict him, and did not have her case referred to the safeguarding team. ‘No risk or safety plan was provided to the family,’ the report reads. ELFT was also aware of Nicolas’ threat to kill in 2021, and this was not referred to The Met, nor was the fact Caroline had not wanted to report receiving threatening messages. This was considered to be a ‘burden (which) should not have been placed on her.’
The coroner added that NELFT, ELFT and the MPS have all taken the circumstances of Caroline Adeyelu’s death “very seriously” and shown “significant degree of reflection and willingness to learn” from the tragic circumstances of this case. However, the coroner added: “Concerns raised were not explored or escalated. A number of options were available to assist in keeping Caroline safe, but these were not taken.”
The inquest heard concerns from multiple witnesses about the lack of effective communication systems in place between the mental health services and the Metropolitan Police Service, in circumstances where there are dual forensic and mental health concerns.
Coroner Persaud said cited statistics from the Femicide Census (2000) which found that for women killed by immediate family members, over 80 per cent were mothers killed by their sons. Mental health of the perpetrator was a context of the violence in 58 per cent of those cases.
“In light of this, and in light of the evidence heard at the inquest, I am concerned that the risk of adult child to parent domestic abuse is a matter that requires more substantive consideration in safeguarding training, than is currently provided.” the coroner said.
She added: “Both trusts and the MPS are asked to consider a process for direct and immediate operational liaison between the police and NHS mental health staff for individuals presenting with a risk of violence compounded by mental ill health.”
@ MyLondon
