Release of man who killed elderly couple is a 'risk to himself and public'

The son-in-law of an elderly couple who were stabbed to death in their own home has said their killer would be a risk to the public, and himself, if he is released next year.

Michael and Marjorie Cawdery, both 83, were killed in a "frenzied attack" in their Portadown home in County Armagh in May 2017.

Thomas Scott McEntee, was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison.

Speaking as a revised mental health code of practice was released by the Department of Health, Charles Little said the "mental health safety net" is "still not fixed".

The updated code of practice provides guidance for health and social care, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) with the aim of shared responsibility for those with mental health issues and better clarity for those services.

At the beginning of an inquest into the death of Mr and Mrs Cawdery, counsel outlined how McEntee had contacted the police and had sought treatment at hospitals in Belfast, Newry and Craigavon over a five-day period before the killings.

• 22 May: McEntee called police about being "chased" by members of a cult. An officer contacted his sister in Londonderry who agreed to come to Belfast to collect him. He left the station against police advice and went toward the Europa bus station. He was later taken to the Mater Hospital for assessment.

• 25 May: Police were called about McEntee's behaviour in Warrenpoint as he was intoxicated. He was given a lift to Newry train station by police after agreeing to travel to Lurgan, but did not board a train.

• 26 May: On the morning of the killings, McEntee walked naked from Bessbrook to Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry. He was detained but not arrested before being transferred by ambulance to Craigavon Area Hospital in Portadown. While he was there, he got up, left and made his way to the Cawderys' home in nearby Upper Ramone Park.

An independent panel, appointed by health authorities to investigate the killings, also said their deaths could have been avoided.

Mr and Mrs Cawdery's son-in-law previously told an inquest McEntee was also a victim because he was failed by mental health services.

Speaking on Thursday following the release of the revised mental health guidance, Mr Little said McEntee was "put in prison" because of the "mental health safety net in in 2017".

However, he said the guidance is the "first major step forward".

"This is the first major implementation of recommendations from that time. The rest of them are still to be done.

Mr Little added that if McEntee is released, he will be entering a "world where the mental health safety net is still not fixed".

"That's putting him at risk and it's putting the public at risk."

Mr Little said what has been achieved by the revised protocol "really will make a difference".

He added he doesn't know if the revised guidance would have made a difference to the trauma his family endured - but it could have done.

Looking back at day the couple were killed, Mr Little said the level of violence was "appalling".

"It was something you'd never expect," he said.

"For me, I cannot condone in any way the sheer level of violence. But the man had been trying to get help, and couldn't get any. That's what makes him a victim of this as well.

"So to make any sort of sense of this, we had to push for change."

Northern Ireland's mental health champion, Professor Siobahn O'Neill said the revised guidance is "really a huge step forward" and is "groundbreaking".

"It should have been there a long time ago, it's come very late in the day for many families but ultimately it's a really important document and it needs to be implemented in full," she told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.