Father set to sue over double killing by schizophrenic son

A schizophrenic's fatal stabbing of his mother and brother was a "tragedy [that] might have been averted", an independent inquiry found yesterday.

But the mental health trust that cared for Anthony Smith insisted yesterday that it did not fail in its treatment of him although it had not been "perfect". Lawyers for Smith, described as a "ticking time bomb" by his stepfather, are considering suing the health authority.

Smith pleaded guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility at Nottingham Crown Court in March this year and was ordered to be detained indefinitely at Rampton maximum security hospital. He had stabbed his mother, Gwendoline, 43 times before turning the knife on his 11-year- old stepbrother David.

An inquiry commissioned by the Southern Derbyshire Health Authority and Derbyshire County Council said yesterday that the system had been "weak and vacillating in dealing with a clear and potential danger". It added, however, that "no serious blame could be attached to anyone".

"There was plainly enough going wrong to indicate the need for a thorough and speedy review of [Smith's] discharge." said the report, which was headed by Professor Sir John Wood. "No one fully realised the extent of his illness and the urgency of the need for fuller investigation and control ... With hindsight there are many concerned who would have acted differently and will deeply regret their failure to do so."

Dr Andy Clayton, medical director of Southern Derbyshire Mental Health Trust, said yesterday: "We have accepted that there are areas in our procedures which could be tightened up. What I am not accepting is that any of our staff were to blame for what happened."

Smith had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic in July 1995 and was a patient at Derby general hospital for less than a month before returning home with the approval of his consultant, Dr Sarah Barrett, where he stopped taking medication. An appointment was made for him to see Dr Barrett, the following month and a letter confirming this arrived on 8 August. Later that day, Smith killed his mother and brother.

The report noted that there had been tensions between Smith and his mother for years, and in retrospect it was obvious that Smith was developing a schizophrenic illness. This could have been picked up by a counsellor and passed on to his GP but there was no communication between the two - a situation the report found "unwise".

Smith's stepfather, Peter, yesterday criticised both the authors of the report and the trust: "It is bureaucrats going through bureaucratic speeches ... They have glossed over everything and make it sound more like a clerical error than anything else."

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, added: "This was a clear-cut case where a person as ill as Anthony Smith should have been sectioned.

"That he was sent back to his family against their wishes is quite unforgivable."