Jury weighs if shortcomings were factor in deaths

A jury is being asked to decide whether there were shortcomings in the way police and healthcare workers dealt with a man in the days before he killed three elderly men.

Alexander Lewis-Ranwell, now 35, was arrested and released twice before he killed Anthony Payne, 80, and twins Roger and Dick Carter, 84, in Exeter on 10 February 2019.

Inquests into their deaths heard concerns about Lewis-Ranwell's mental health were raised repeatedly by those who had contact with him from 8 February.

Summing up, coroner Philip Spinney said jurors should consider whether any shortcomings had "possibly or probably contributed to the deaths".

Jurors, who have been sent out to consider their conclusions, heard officers attending incidents before Lewis-Ranwell's first arrest on 8 February questioned whether he was "in his right mind", while his mother Jill Lewis-Ranwell tried to warn officers he was suffering a psychotic episode.

She said in a statement: "I told them he had a history of violence when unwell and that I would have grave concerns if he was released."

The inquests at County Hall in Exeter heard about Lewis-Ranwell's behaviour in custody, where he spilled water in his cell, exposed himself, masturbated, claimed he was being poisoned and complained of smelling explosives.

Dr Mihail Pichiu - a forensic medical examiner employed by G4S to provide medical services to Devon and Cornwall Police - concluded Lewis-Ranwell was not delusional and did not require a Mental Health Act (MHA) assessment after being called to assess him on the evening of 9 February during his second period in detention.

Pichiu denied he failed to act on "warning signs" Lewis-Ranwell was seriously unwell.

Lewis-Ranwell was released from custody on the morning of 10 February and killed Payne and the Carter brothers later that day.

The jury previously heard Lewis-Ranwell had previously been twice detained under the MHA in 2016 and 2017.

The records of his first admission detailed a diagnosis of "drug-induced psychosis or paranoid schizophrenia", a history of cannabis use, and that Lewis-Ranwell believed he was Jesus.

Spinney asked jurors to consider a number of issues raised during the evidence.

They included how police gathered and shared information about Lewis-Ranwell's mental health while he was detained on 8 and 9 February, the assessment carried out by Pichiu and a subsequent phone call between Pichiu and approved mental health professional Samantha Buxton.

Spinney said they should decide who ultimately made the decision that an MHA assessment, which could have resulted in Lewis-Ranwell being sectioned, was not required.

Jurors were also asked to consider decisions made by Devon and Cornwall Police on 10 February, whether officers should have used powers under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act, which allows police to detain someone if they appear to have a mental disorder and pose a risk to themselves or somebody else and issues around G4S's recruitment of Pichiu.

The coroner said: "One of the central issues that you will need to consider regarding causation in this case is whether shortcomings in the way that [Lewis-Ranwell] was dealt with whilst in police custody meant that he did not have a MHA assessment."

He said jurors had heard expert evidence from Dr Dinesh Maganty that if Lewis-Ranwell "had been subject to a MHA assessment then he probably would have been detained".

The inquest previously heard Payne and the Carters all died of head injuries and Lewis-Ranwell was charged with their murders.

At a trial later in 2019, Lewis-Ranwell was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity and was given a direct hospital order.

The inquests continue.

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