Schizophrenic mother who battered 88-year-old church warden to death in supermarket told police 'I knew I was going to kill someone today', inquest hears

A schizophrenic mother who beat a grandfather to death in a supermarket told police: 'I knew I was going to kill someone today,' an inquest heard.

Zara Radcliffe, 34, was in the midst of a psychotic episode when she battered John Rees to death a Co-op in Penygraig, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

The 88-year-old church warden tried to bravely intervene as the mother-of-one launched a knife attack, pointing her weapon towards a nurse Gaynor Saurin on May 5, 2020.

His childhood sweetheart and wife Eunice, 87, was waiting for him in the car outside as Radcliffe attacked him with two wine bottles and a fire extinguisher. 

The woman, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia months before, hit the retired engineer over 20 times in the supermarket aisles.

Pathologist Dr Richard Jones concluded his cause of death as severe blunt force trauma to the face including multiple facial fractures. 

Radcliffe was arrested following the attack in May 2020 and went on to tell police: 'I knew I was going to kill someone today.' 

Radcliffe later admitted manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility and was sentenced to a hospital order.

The inquest heard her family had become increasingly concerned about her mental health, with her father Wayne making several worried calls the day of the tragedy.  

Mr Radcliffe had contacted the crisis team asking for them to visit Zara as he believed she been taking recreational drugs and not her medication.

He then made two phone calls to other departments, 'adamant he needed to speak to someone urgently' about his daughter.

On 24 February 2020, Ms Radcliffe has been released from the Royal Glamorgan Hospital after four months of treatment.

In the ten weeks that followed, she only communicated with community mental health staff twice. 

Her sister Kylie told the inquest: 'She came out of hospital and she was OK but there wasn’t any after care.

'I had a feeling something would happen and it would take something serious for them to realise how ill she was.'

The inquest heard that on the day of the attack Radcliffe sent her sister a string of text messages including one asking her to 'delete my number.'

When Kylie did not hear from her sister, and her phone calls went unanswered she began to worry. 

The court heard Ms Radcliffe reported a 'domestic incident' to police at 11.50, and informed authorities she had locked herself in a property.

PC Cotton's statement said Radcliffe did not 'sound as if she was intoxicated or under the influence of drugs' and 'was not making any threats'. 

Later he caught police radio reports of 'a female on top of a male assaulting him' and later discovered it was the mother-of-one.

Radcliffe was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder and transported to a police station in Merthyr Tydful.

The hearing, at Pontypridd Coroners Court, comes after an independent review said 'warning signs' of Radcliffe's 'rapid deterioration' were apparent months before the attack in May 2020.

The report said the dangers were either 'not recognised or poorly processed' and there was 'no negotiated crisis plan' before she was discharged from hospital.

The review commissioned by Cwm Taf Morgannwg Safeguarding Board made seven recommendations following the attack.

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board apologised for 'any instances in which her care fell short'.

Chief executive Paul Mears called it 'a tragic case that has impacted upon the lives of many people'.

He said: 'We apologise to Miss Radcliffe and her family for any instances in which her care fell short of the high standards we set ourselves.

'We requested this external review to ensure all opportunities for learning and improvement could be identified.'

Brave Mr Rees saved Ms Saurin when he tried to tackle Radcliffe and was posthumously awarded the Queens medal for gallantry.

Radcliffe was sentenced in October 2020 and detained indefinitely with a hospital order.

Prosecutor Michael Jones KC told that hearing that Mr Rees's efforts to stop Radcliffe was 'a selfless and brave act which cost him his life.'

Mr Rees was described as 'the very definition of a good man, extremely respected and liked in the community' by his family. 

The brave church warden was also branded a 'humble' and 'quiet' man 'satisfied to concentrate his love on Eunice, his grandchildren and All Saints Church'. 

As well as the attack on Mr Rees, Radcliffe also pleaded guilty to three charges of attempted murder of Lisa Way, 53, Mr Price, 58, and Mrs Saurin.

In October 2020, she was taken to Rampton high security hospital and was kept there under a hospital order for an indefinite period. 

The inquest, set to last four days, continues.