Man who stabbed to death grandad previously told medics he found knife in his bed, inquest hears

A man who stabbed a much-loved grandad to death previously told medical professionals that he had found a knife in his bed following a epileptic fit, an inquest has heard.

Lee Santos, 45, was visiting his brother Paul Walker at his home Cullercoats, North Tyneside when he was repeatedly stabbed with a knife by Andrew Peacock, 44. Newcastle Crown Court heard how Peacock suffered an epileptic seizure before the attack on December 23, 2022 and four experienced doctors agreed that he did not know what he was doing at the time.

Peacock admitted causing Lee's death but was cleared of murder by a jury on the grounds of insanity. Judge Penny Moreland imposed a hospital order with a restriction order, meaning he can't be discharged from a secure hospital without the authority of the Secretary of State.

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An inquest into Lee's death was opened at Newcastle Coroner's Court in Newcastle on Monday. Coroner Georgina Nolan told the hearing how Peacock had previously reported to medical professionals that he had been suffering from paranoia and had found with a knife in his bed, after having a seizure. She said: "He stated this may have been down to fears of neighbours breaking in but he stated he had no intention to use it."

The court heard how Peacock's partner had then told medics that she had locked any dangerous items away. Dr David Colvin was Peacock's GP in Whitley Bay for six years. Peacock visited him three times before he attacked Lee complaining about being paranoid and told him he slept with a baseball bat.

During his evidence, the doctor said Peacock was mainly paranoid about his neighbours, particularly at night. He said: "When I saw him on these three occasions he had insight into his paranoia. He was fully aware that they were irrational but he felt that during the night, perhaps after a seizure, that he got very paranoid."

The doctor said he did not think Peacock, who admitted he was "being daft", was acutely psychotic. He said he felt the problem was related to the epilepsy, which he suffered from, or his medication.

Dr Colvin said said he told him to contact the epilepsy clinic and his girlfriend said 'I will make sure he does that'. He said he didn't feel Peacock posed a risk to himself or to others, adding: "He recognised they were irrational thoughts. He had back up with his girlfriend and that to me was reassuring."

The doctor said that during Peacock's third visit he checked that a referral had been made to the epilepsy clinic and found out he had an appointment six days later.

Nathan Rasiah, representing Lee' family, asked the doctor if it would have been appropriate for him to refer Peacock to the crisis team and the early prevention service. Dr Colvin disagreed telling the inquest that if he had phoned up the early prevention team, and told them Peacock was not acutely psychotic, they may not have seen him.

Dr Ming Lai, a Consultant in Clinical Neuropsychology at the Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust, said that by the time he saw Peacock he had had a number of years of seizures and had already been through quite a few medications. He explained to the inquest the difference between confused postictal confusion and postictal psychosis.

The consultant said postictal confusion begins straight away after a seizure and that patients can lash out and and become aggressive but it's very rarely directed. He said during postictal psychosis there is an interval between the seizure and the patient developing psychosis. He said it can be up to a week and can go on for a month or sometimes two months.

The coroner asked Dr Lai if Peacock's case was considered by the clinic, at the time, to be postictal confusion rather than postictal psychosis. He replied: "Yes because it was coming straight after a seizure and he was doing weird things like stripping off naked and things like that."

Dr Colvin said he felt terrible following the attack and he went to seek support from his colleagues. He said there were a lot of very experienced GPs and none of them had heard of postictal psychosis.

Dr Lai said it wasn't a surprise that Dr Colvin and his colleagues hadn't heard of postictal psychosis. He said that in 20 years of epilepsy monitoring he could only remember seeing it three or four times.

When asked about Peacock waking up to find a knife in his bed, Dr Lai said it possibly could have been a form of parasomnia such as acting out his dreams or sleep walking.

Joanne Glenton, an epilepsy nurse at the trust, told the court: "You hear patient's saying they feel paranoid, sometimes there're reasons for that. We had no concern that he was delusional or anything at all. He was very clear and he was able to give me a lot of information."

The inquest heard how Lee and his brother were confronted by Peacock, who was holding a knife. He said "You have been in my flat" before stabbing Lee in the stomach causing him to fall to the floor.

Three independent witnesses described seeing Peacock stabbing Lee, from Killingworth, repeatedly and that continued for some time. Police and paramedics attended and CPR was administered but Lee was pronounced dead at 5.04pm.

The hearing heard how Peacock, who had issues with alcohol and drugs, said he thought he may have killed somebody, and he may have had a fit, because he couldn't remember anything. The court heard how the medical cause of Lee's death was recorded as stab wounds to the chest and to the back.

In a statement, read to the coroner's court, Lee's daughter Lauren Santos said: "We have all spent time together as a family thinking about my dad - laughing and crying at things that he has said or done - and the term cheeky chap was mentioned more than once. I keep reliving the moment when I last saw my dad. I see him waving goodbye to me when I close my eyes."

The hearing heard how Peacock provided access to his medical records but declined to attend the hearing via video link. The inquest continues.