Coroner calls 21 witnesses for inquest of pregnant Co-op manager stabbed 33 times by schizophrenic man two days after he walked out of psychiatric unit over fears other patients were going to eat him
- Ella Parker, 29, was stabbed in head and neck at her Milton Keynes home in 2017
- Ryan Blacknell, 25, previously admitted manslaughter at court and was detained
- Days before the killing, Blacknell’s mother had taken him to a mental health unit
- Coroner today listed 21 witnesses for the inquest, including doctors and nurses
A coroner today called 21 witnesses for the inquest of a pregnant Co-op manager who was stabbed to death by a schizophrenic man.
Ella Parker, 29, who was five months pregnant, was knifed 33 times to the head and neck at her home in Milton Keynes, near London, which she was decorating in readiness for the arrival of her baby son in 2017.
Ryan Blacknell, 25, previously admitted manslaughter when he appeared at Luton Crown Court and was detained under the Mental Health Act.
Days before the killing, Blacknell’s mother had taken him to a mental health unit at the Campbell Centre after she became concerned with his behaviour, it was heard.
After staying one night, he left the hospital because ‘he felt the in-patients were going to eat him if he stayed another night,’ it was reported.
Sitting at Milton Keynes Coroner’s Court, Senior Coroner Tom Osborne today listed 21 witnesses who had important evidence to share in the case, including doctors and nurses from the Campbell Centre.
Ella Parker (pictured right), 29, who was five months pregnant, was knifed 33 times to the head and neck by Ryan Blacknell (left), 25, at her home in Milton Keynes in 2017
Blacknell was a childhood friend of Ms Parker’s brother and went to stay at their house in New Bradwell.
On the morning of December 7, 2017, Ella was painting and sent a selfie to a friend which read: ‘More paint on me than the ceiling’.
Her body was found hours later by a neighbour who had arrived to help with the renovations, the inquest heard.
A post-mortem examination found 33 puncture wounds to her head and neck.
Today the victim’s aunt, Vivienne Parker, uncle Bruce and cousin Peta Ferguson appeared over video link to the pre-inquest review hearing.
The coroner said: ‘We have not met since October 1, 2019. We are here to try to resurrect it today. We are working towards getting a full inquest listed as soon as possible.’
The home in Milton Keynes, pictured above. Senior Coroner Tom Osborne today listed 21 witnesses who had important evidence to share in the case
Police at the scene in December 2017. Blacknell previously admitted manslaughter when he appeared at Luton Crown Court and was detained under the Mental Health Act
On the morning of December 7, 2017, Ella (pictured above) was painting and sent a selfie to a friend which read: ‘More paint on me than the ceiling’
He decided that a jury would not be needed at the inquest and set aside five days to listen to the evidence.
Mr Osborne added: ‘I am hoping by that time we can return to court, we are working on the assumption we will never return to complete normality.
‘We will be far more flexible about giving evidence over the video link than before.’
Deciding that it would be ‘uncomfortable’ to host the inquest on the same week as Ella’s birthday, the coroner decided the inquest would start on January 17 2022, fixed for five days.
At the end of the pre-hearing review, Vivienne Parker checked that the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust – which runs the Campbell Centre – was going to be represented at the inquest, which the coroner confirmed.
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