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Inquest resumes into the killing of Richard Loudwell

15 Sep 2016

The inquest into the killing of detained patient Richard Loudwell on the male admissions ward of Broadmoor Hospital resumes on Wednesday 31 August 2011 at Windsor Guildhall, presided over by HM Coroner for Berkshire, Peter Bedford. The inquest is before a jury and is expected to last for eleven days.

Richard’s sister says:

“Richard’s family have never forgotten why Richard was in Broadmoor Hospital and that another family are still suffering from Richard’s actions. However, Richard had complex psychiatric and medical needs and once he was taken into custody, we expected that people would be kept safe from Richard, and that he would be kept safe from others”.

Peter Bryan has since pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Richard by reason of diminished responsibility. Richard was the third person to have been killed by Peter Bryan.

An independent inquiry was commissioned by the Strategic Health Authority. A critical report was published on 3 September 2009, but the family were not involved in the inquiry and the published report was anonymised to remove staff names .

The family’s solicitor, Kate Maynard, said:

“After over seven years, the family look forward to the inquest which will be open and transparent and in which they will be able to hear in person from the staff and management at Broadmoor who were responsible for keeping Richard safe, and for assessing and managing the risks posed by Peter Bryan. ”

Background

Peter Bryan killed his second victim, Bryan Cherry, on 17 February 2004. He was initially held in HMP Pentonville, and then HMP Belmarsh, where he assaulted staff on 2 occasions and set fire to his cell. By 20 March 2004, he was placed on a five man unlock in prison due to his dangerousness. On 15 April 2004, he was admitted to Luton Ward, the male admissions ward of Broadmoor hospital. On 19 April, Peter Bryan was allowed to associate with other patients on general observations which meant that there was only a requirement that he should be seen by staff about every 15 minutes.

On 25 April 2004, he fatally wounded Richard Loudwell in a sustained attack in the dining room of Luton Ward. Richard died in Frimley Park Hospital on 5 June 2004 without having regained consciousness.

On 15 March 2005, Peter Bryan was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences after pleading guilty to two counts of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

Richard Loudwell was convicted of the manslaughter of Joan Smythe by reason of diminished responsibility on 25 April 2002. He arrived at Broadmoor from HMP Belmarsh on 15 January 2004, and remained on Luton Ward until the fatal attack on 24 April 2004.


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