Epsom deaths: ‘Unlawful killing’ of university principal and his daughter

A Surrey boarding school headmistress and her daughter were unlawfully killed by her husband before he turned the gun on himself, an inquest has heard.

George Pattison shot his wife, Emma Pattison, and their seven-year-old daughter, Lettie, without lawful reason at Epsom College in February 2023, senior coroner Richard Travers concluded at Surrey Coroners Court on Tuesday.

He also concluded that Pattison committed suicide, after shooting himself with the same gun.

A previous inquest heard Ms Pattison, 45, died from gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen, while Lettie was shot in the head.

Deborah Kirk, Ms Pattison’s sister, told Tuesday’s inquest that she received a phone call from her sister just before 23:00 GMT on February 4, telling her that her husband had hit her and their dog, Bella.

She said her sister told her, “I need someone to come.”

Her sister’s tone of voice expressed “concern, but not terror,” the investigation said.

“It was more like she assessed the situation and didn’t feel safe,” she said.

Ms Kirk said she and her husband, Mark Miller, arrived at her sister’s home just after 23:00 GMT after becoming concerned that her sister was not answering her phone.

When they arrived, all the lights were on and the cars were in the driveway, the inquest heard.

Mr. Miller entered the house before Ms. Kirk, then prevented her from entering further once she had entered.

“He said don’t go in there, don’t go in there, we’re going outside,” Ms Kirk told the inquest.

Mr Miller called an ambulance and paramedics arrived at the scene a short time later.

Ms Kirk also read a tribute to her sister and niece at the inquest.

She said: “Emma was lightness itself.”

She said her sister was “smart” and kind in a way that “fills a room” and “leads to change.”

She described her niece, Lettie, as “intelligent, curious and disarmingly kind.”

Ms Kirk said she was “still trying to forgive” Mr Pattison.