Tommy Thompson killer Shaun Skelhorn was in hospital with ‘violent thoughts’ month before crime — (Liverpool Echo)

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SSRI Stories Summary:  Sean Skelhorn is a long-time user of illegal drugs, and the NHS.  He has a “chaotic lifestyle”, and is keen to get the psychiatric drugs which he has been taking for years – quetiapine and citalopram (and at one time, mirtazapine).   However, because of his own irregular living patterns and lack of responsibility he is unable to assure himself a steady supply of these meds.  He thus goes on and off them.  He often casually mentions violent thoughts, and claims to NHS staff to have acted violently.  The claims of violent acts (e.g. strangling his sister) tend to be exaggerations or fabrications.  Possibly for this reason, NHS mental health staff do not assess him as high risk to himself or others, despite his continuing reports of violent ideation.  However, in April, 2011, following a year in which he goes on and off his meds twice, and having been off them for just under one month, he stabs and kills a man.  News reports describe him as a killer and do not mention medications.  He is sentenced to life in prison.

06:00, 17 Oct 2011   Updated  05:56, 8 May 2013

By Liverpool Echo

THE killer of a Tommy Thompson in a Liverpool hotel room went to hospital just a month before the murder saying he was having violent thoughts, the ECHO can reveal.

Shaun Skelhorn was jailed for life on Friday, alongside his girlfriend Leanne Wilkinson, for the murder of 29-year-old Thomas Thompson, in the Manor Hotel, on Edge Lane.

And today the ECHO can reveal the 30-year-old has suffered for many years from a personality disorder that leaves him having angry thoughts and hearing voices.

Despite them killing Mr Thompson, from Old Swan, in a brutal “one-way traffic attack,” the victim’s mum says she has “no feelings, hatred or otherwise” towards Skelhorn and Wilkinson.

In the last seven years, Skelhorn, of no fixed address, has admitted himself to hospital numerous times asking for treatment because he was afraid of what he might do.

Aged 23, he admitted himself to hospital and was given medication. Similar incidents followed in both 2006 and 2008.

In 2010, he went and asked the hospital to treat him for his “violent thoughts” but when he went back, in January this year, having heard voices, he was turned away because of a lack of beds.

Eventually in March, just a month before Mr Thompson’s murder, he was admitted for two weeks and given more medication to curb his inner anger.

H is barrister, Simon Driver, told the court Skelhorn would spend his prison sentence in “substantial fear of reprisals”.

He told the court the killer’s brother – as reported in the ECHO at the time – had been dragged off the street into a van within days of Mr Thompson’s murder.

Stephen Skelhorn, 26, had both his legs broken and most of one ear sliced off before being dumped on waste ground.

Then at the end of September, just before the trial started, the home of one of Skelhorn’s relatives had a hand grenade thrown through the front window.

Skelhorn admitted murdering Mr Thompson in the Manor Hotel on April 17 and was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 13 years and nine months.

His partner, and mother of his child, Wilkinson, 26, of Langbar, Whiston, was convicted by a jury and sentenced to a minimum of 15 years.

In a victim impact statement read to the court before the killers were sentenced, Mr Thompson’s mum, Vivian, said: “I cannot explain what it is like living without Thomas.

“I miss him so much.

“The impact on all of the family is immeasurable.”

I have no feelings at all – hatred or otherwise – to the people that have killed my son. They have already destroyed our lives.”

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An independent investigation into the care and treatment of a mental health service user (Patient R) in Liverpool and surrounding area

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 Niche Patient Safety was commissioned by NHS England in April 2014 to carry out an independent investigation into the care and treatment of patient R who pleaded guilty to the murder of T on 17 April 2011.  T was robbed and murdered by R and one other in a Liverpool hotel.

1.2 R had a seven year history of contact with mental health and substance misuse services.   He had inpatient admissions and community team follow up from two trusts:  5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust – referred to as Trust 1 in this report and Mersey Care NHS Trust – referred to as Trust 2 in this report.

1.3 He had also spent time in prison for a variety of offences.  His last period in prison before the homicide was between September and November 2010 and his last admission to an acute inpatient unit was from 6 March to 15 March 2011.

1.7 Through this process we have considered whether there were any identifiable factors which could have caused or contributed to this tragic incident.  We found no specific causal factors.  However the following contributory factors have been identified:

• A lack, at that time, of robust risk assessment and risk management processes for patients with personality disorder and/or drug dependence;
• No developed care pathway encompassing inpatient admission and community team intervention and follow up for such patients;
• R’s diagnosis of personality disorder and his drug misuse;
• R’s non-registration with a GP or registration with a GP in a different locality and
• R’s lack of continuing engagement with the mental health service in Trust 1.

(Page 15) 6.A  Mental health assessment

6.A.1 It is clear that R was someone who had a very chaotic lifestyle, and that this was partially recognised by mental health services.  He had a seven year history of involvement with mental health services and latterly had repeated emergency admissions to inpatient or crisis team care when he was asking for help to manage his violent and disturbing feelings.   Throughout his contact with mental health services he had great difficulty in continuing any engagement with services or was unwilling to engage.