Wife tried to defend herself against husband who was hammering her to death | Great Britain | News

A husband brutally murdered his own wife in their bathroom and then took his own life before they were due to retire, an inquest has heard.

Brave Suratchanee “Lat” Parks, 53, was trying to fight off Richard Parks, 63, when he strangled, stabbed and beat her to death, Maidstone coroner's court was told.

Suratchanee, who was described as a “ray of sunshine”, was found dead next to Parks in the first floor bathroom of their home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

It was a year before they made plans to retire and move to Thailand.

The inquest heard that Arborist Parks suffered stab wounds to the neck and was found dead with a knife in his hand.

Lat had multiple stab wounds, was beaten to death with a hammer, resulting in skull fractures, and the woman, who worked as a nail salon worker, was found dead in the bathroom with neck wounds that suggested she had been strangled.

The pathologist Dr. Virginia Fitzpatrick-Swallow told the court she had other defense breaches that suggested she was trying to fend off her husband.

The couple met in Thailand, where Lat was a single mother to a son, and later moved to the UK together.

Before the tragedy, they bought a house in Thailand where they planned to retire.

The court heard of a happy marriage “without any problems”, but Parks had recently become concerned about a high tax burden.

The court heard he also struggled with mental health issues, which had delayed his retirement.

When the police entered the house on February 23rd this year after being alerted by relatives, they discovered a large pool of blood in the kitchen as well as bloodstains on the stairs and in every room of the house.

Officers found blood stains on the kitchen floor, in the dishwasher, in the hallway and on the stairs, as well as on a sofa and a carpet in the living room.

There was blood on an upturned silver metal picture frame. It contained pictures of the couple. A red folder was also found on the hallway floor with a large sum of cash spilling out in the form of £10 and £20 notes, as well as two coats at the bottom of the stairs covered in a large pool of blood.

A blood spatter analyst concluded that a bloody attack had occurred in the kitchen area and that at some point someone had been running around the house trying to clean up in the kitchen.

Detective Constable Jessica Summers, who investigated the case, said police had concluded Ms Parks was unlawfully killed by her husband, who subsequently took his own life.

She said they were confident there was no third-party involvement as there were no signs of forced entry, the doors to the house were locked upon arrival and there was no trail of blood leading away from the property.

Coroner Roger Hatch ruled Mrs Parks was unlawfully killed and her husband Richard Parks had taken his own life.

Ms Parks' employer, the London Nail Company, said: 'It is with an extremely heavy heart that we announce the death of our dear Lat.

“We are all deeply saddened by this loss. Lat was the gentlest, kindest soul and we will miss her dearly.”

“We are extremely saddened by this news and our hearts are truly broken. Lat was a little ray of sunshine and she put a smile on many people’s faces.”

“She will be missed beyond words.”

Robert Parks, Mr Parks' brother, said after the inquest: 'This is a terribly sad situation. Only these two will ever know exactly what happened.

“They loved each other very much and he was looking forward to going to Thailand – it's just terribly sad for both families.”