Inquest proceedings have begun over the death of a man who was strangled in a mental hospital.
Richard Laversuch, 63, from Andover, died at Parklands Mental Hospital, in Basingstoke, on November 27, 2021, after being strangled by another patient, Owen Herbert, then 18.
The inquest into his death is being heard at Winchester’s Coroners Court.
It started on Monday, July 13, and is expected to last eight days, concluding on July 24.
In a statement from coroner Nicholas Walker, he said: "He [Richard] was known by his family as a gentle, thoughtful, humorous, intelligent and empathetic man.
"He lived with schizophrenia all of his adult life - it was a consequence of that diagnosis that he came to be in Parklands Hospital."
He explained that Mr Laversuch was staying in the Juniper Ward for acute admissions and was waiting for a placement to be discharged.
Mr Herbert, who Mr Walker described as ‘in the grips of a mental health crisis’, was admitted just after 11pm on November 26 after an investigation under the Mental Health Act deemed him ‘lacking capacity’ and that he should be detained for his own safety.
The criminal trial in 2023 heard that there were ‘a litany of failures’ and that Mr Herbert should never have been in the Juniper unit and should have been referred to Hazel Ward, the psychiatric intensive care unit.
Previous to this, Mr Herbert had been hearing voices, citing that ‘life is a game’ and that he needed to obey the voices’ orders, otherwise he would be ‘tortured’ and ‘erased.’
He had been seen leaving the house with knives, a cricket bat, and weapons on several separate occasions and had exposed himself in public.
At Juniper Ward, Mr Walker described that Mr Herbert was seen walking in and out of his room and heard evidence that he attempted to strangle another patient at around 3.40 am on November 27.
The patient complained to a nurse, who checked on Mr Herbert and believed him to be ‘in a deep sleep.’
At 3.55 am he was seen entering Mr Laversuch’s room and was found by staff to be strangling him.
A statement from consultant forensic psychologist, Dr Oliver White, stated that Mr Herbert said the voices had instructed him to kill someone immediately before strangling Mr Laversuch.
Police and an ambulance attended, but Mr Laversuch could not be saved.
A post-mortem examination concluded that Mr Laversuch died of manual strangulation.
READ MORE: What happens at an inquest and what can the press report?
In a trial in February 2023, Mr Herbert pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating of an emergency worker.
He was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order and will only be released when a mental health tribunal considers him to be safe and the Secretary of State consents.
Mr Spencer, barrister for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Foundation Trust, said the trust has admitted that there was a failure between Trust staff and external agencies, failure internally around decision making, communication and bed planning, and that the Juniper Ward was insufficiently staffed during the night shift.
A statement from Bridget Ryan, Mr Laversuch’s eldest sister, on behalf of all his siblings, said: "Richard lived with schizophrenia for most of his adult life, but his essential character - gentle, thoughtful, humorous and empathetic - remained unchanged."
She described him as an ‘intelligent, reflective and quietly brave’ person who valued employment and volunteer work.
She added that he stood against racism, expressed support for Free Tibet and was ‘well-read, and had wide-ranging political and philosophical interests.’
She finished: "Richard’s death highlights stark disparities in physical and mental health treatment. We believe Owen Herbert and his family were also affected by systemic failings.
"We remember who Richard was, he was very kind, intelligent, funny, compassionate and brave."
A statement from Rachel and David Herbert, Owen’s parents, said: "We believed Owen would be safe in hospital and it was the most appropriate place for him to recover.
"Not a day passes when we don’t think of Richard Laversuch and the Laversuch family. We live with profound regret, sorrow and anger."
The inquest continues.
Helplines
If you would like any help with bereavement, loss or mental wellbeing, here are some helpline numbers:
Call the Samaritans on 116 123 or go online at samaritans.org
Child Bereavement UK 0800 028 8840 childbereavementuk.org
Cruse Bereavement Care 0808 808 1677 cruse.org.uk
Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS) 0300 111 5065 uksobs.org
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