Rowley Regis knotweed double killing unforeseen
The death of a woman who was killed by her husband before he committed suicide over Japanese knotweed fears could not have been prevented, a report has concluded.
The Safer Sandwell Partnership launched an investigation following the deaths of Kenneth McRae and his wife Jane in Rowley Regis in 2013 to see whether support workers should have intervened beforehand.
However, it decided that no lessons could be learned from the incident and that there was no evidence to suggest there had previously been violence in the home on Bryan Budd Close.
The couple were found dead in July 2013 after Mr McRae's colleagues raised fears they had not heard from him.
Lab technician Mr McRae, aged 52, was found on the first floor, his wrists and throat having been cut, and Mrs McRae was found in bed on the second floor with head injuries.
An inquest on the couple last year ruled Mr McRae killed his wife before killing himself. It heard that 55-year-old Mrs McRae had 'lain dead for several days' prior to Mr McRae killing himself.
She had been hit over the head with a perfume bottle, which was found at the scene.
A suicide note left by Mr McRae revealed he had developed a 'growing madness' over Japanese knotweed, an invasive plant species which is notoriously difficult to get rid of, he claimed was creeping onto their property from a neighbouring golf course.
He was concerned it would make their house unsaleable in the future.
Councils are required to carry out Domestic Homicide Reviews when someone over the age of 16 dies as a result of violence or abuse from a family member. The report said council support services could not have foreseen the deaths.
It said: "The review found nothing to indicate that domestic abuse of any kind had taken place in the couple's relationship previously or that either of them had felt a need to seek help from relatives, friends or workplace colleagues."
It went on to say Mr McRae 'had no previous history of violent or aggressive behaviour and no reports of distress or the need for urgent help had been made to local agencies, including health services'. The report stated his concerns about Japanese knotweed 'did not explain his extreme action and no reason was found to blame any party or agency contacted about it'.
A Home Office panel judged The Safer Sandwell Partnership's review as adequate.
