Epsom College murders: Inquest opens into death of Emma Pattison and daughter

Epsom College headteacher Emma Pattison died of shotgun wounds to the chest and abdomen, while her seven-year-old daughter Lettie was shot in the head, an inquest has been told. 

Both are believed to have been gunned down by 39-year-old chartered accountant George Pattison – their husband and father respectively – before he killed himself. 

All three were found at Mrs Pattison’s home on the grounds of the exclusive £42,000-a-year boarding school in Surrey on February 5.

Tests showed Mrs Pattison, 45, also suffered shock and haemorrhage, Surrey Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday. 

Mrs Pattison had made a frantic call to her sister Deborah Kirk and her husband, which prompted relatives to jump into a car and drive out to her.

Lettie, seven, and her mother Emma Pattison, 45, were both found dead on February 5 at the home on the grounds of the exclusive Epsom College boarding school, in Surrey, where Mrs Pattison was the head teacher

Emma and Lettie are believed to have been murdered by husband and father George Pattison before he took his own life on February 5. The family is pictured together 

But tragically they arrived too late and discovered her body as well as that of her husband George, 39, and little Lettie. 

After the brief hearing into Mrs Pattison’s death, Coroner SImon Wickens said: ‘I would like to offer my condolences to Emma’s family and friends and also the wider community she served and also to the students whose lives she no doubt touched.’

An earlier inquest on Tuesday heard Mr Pattison ‘died of a shotgun wound to the head’. 

Post-mortem examinations were carried out on Mr Pattison, his wife and their daughter, by Dr Ashley Fegan-Earle at East Surrey hospital. 

Following their deaths, Mrs Pattison and Lettie’s loved ones said: ‘To see the esteem in which Emma is held by all who knew her is an enormous comfort.

‘She was everything one could hope for in a daughter, sister, mother, wife, friend, teacher and so much more. 

‘We are an extremely close family and family was at the centre of Emma and Lettie’s universe.

‘The Epsom College community had become part of that universe for them both. 

Emma and Lettie Pattison are pictured in an undated photo. In a tribute last month, their loved ones said : ‘We are an extremely close family and family was at the centre of Emma and Lettie’s universe’

Epsom College headteacher Emma Pattison pictured with her husband George at a school function

A police vehicle outside Epsom College in Surrey following the three deaths on February 5

‘Seven-year-old Lettie was Emma’s pride and joy – an adorable, vibrant little girl with a compelling curiosity, a heart-melting smile and an intellect beyond her years. 

‘The two of them were inseparable and we take comfort in that they will remain so. ‘

‘Emma had a warm, welcoming smile and sparkling, blue eyes, full of optimism. Over the last 11 days we’ve noticed the sky has been bright blue, with at times a warm glow of pink.’

The family’s statement also thanked well-wishers for their messages of support.

It said: ‘We, the family of Emma and Lettie, would like to express our deepest, heartfelt thanks for the overwhelming support we have received over the past 11 days. 

‘Thank you to the immeasurable number of people and institutions who have written messages, sent flowers, paid tributes, held vigils or otherwise taken time to remember Emma and Lettie.

The heartbroken family revealed they take comfort in knowing the Emma and Lettie (pictured together) will remain inseparable in death as they were in life

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The family described Lettie (pictured) as ‘Emma’s pride and joy: an adorable, vibrant little girl with a compelling curiosity, a heart-melting smile and an intellect beyond her years’

‘We would like to thank Surrey Police for their sensitive and thorough handling of the on-going investigation into this horrendous tragedy and to the Epsom College Community, Croydon High and Danes Hill schools for their invaluable support. 

‘Thank you also to the media who have, largely, respected our privacy at this difficult time: we ask that they continue to do so.’

The statement comes after Mr Pattison’s family spoke for the first time since the tragedy to voice their horror.

His uncle Frederick Cameron, 83, told The Mail on Sunday that the tragedy had come as a ‘huge shock’ to the Jamaica-born killer’s family. 

He said: ‘He didn’t strike me as anyone who would do anything of that nature.

‘He must have been in a state of madness… It doesn’t make any sense to me.’

Mr Cameron, who lives in Kingston, Jamaica, said he had attended the couple’s wedding on the island in 2011. But his memories of the happy occasion were shattered when he received a call from his daughter Suzette –  Mr Pattison’s cousin – informing him of the killings. 

He said: ‘From what Suzette said it seems like there were problems [in the marriage]… But that doesn’t mean you shoot people.’

Surrey Police previously confirmed it had recovered Mr Pattison’s gun and was treating the case as a murder investigation with ‘no third-party involvement’ 

It is understood that Pattison moved into the grace-and-favour home at the school only three weeks before the murder-suicide. Pictured: Epsom College

The shocking crime has left friends and family members wondering whether Emma’s new job at the £42,000-a-year school had caused a rift with her husband.

She had previously hinted that the move may have placed a strain on their marriage due to the need to relocate.

In an online chat with a friend last year, she wrote: ‘I have a new job and will have to live on campus as it’s a boarding school! We are trying to sort the house out now… bit of a nightmare.’

The couple had to sell their £1 million family home in Caterham, Surrey, and lived apart as they waited for the sale to complete. 

It is understood Mr Pattison moved into the grace-and-favour home at the school only three weeks before the murder-suicide.

A neighbour suggested George was ‘jealous’ of his wife’s success after he had failed to launch a wine import business.

Emma and her daughter were found dead at their home in the grounds of Epsom College in Surrey after Mrs Pattison, 45, made a distressed call to her sister

George described himself online as ‘a career accountant desperate to do something better’. But his wine venture failed to take off. 

The couple reportedly hosted a dinner party hours before Emma made a distressed call to her sister. 

After the triple shooting, Surrey Police referred itself to watchdogs because officers had been in touch with Pattison days earlier.

He had been a licensed shotgun holder and officers had called him to check on the storage of his gun but did not visit.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct later decided no investigation was required.

Mr Wickens fixed a date for a pre-inquest review hearing in Mr Pattison’s death on June 27.  

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