Son who beat his own father to death was not psychotic, mental health expert tells inquest

Renowned chest consultant Kim Harrison was beaten to death by his son at the family home

A mental health professional who assessed a man a year before he killed his father in a frenzied attack did not find any evidence of psychotic symptoms, an inquest has heard. Rather, the expert concluded the man had freely chosen an "alternative lifestyle" which may not have been one his doctor parents would have wished for their son.

Daniel Harrison beat his father - renowned chest consultant Dr Kim Harrison - to death in the family home in the Swansea Valley in March 2022 after absconding from a mental health unit. He subsequently pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was made the subject of an indefinite hospital order.

An inquest into Dr Harrison's death being held in Swansea's Guildhall courtroom heard that Daniel Harrison had a history of mental health issues going back as far as 2007, and for a prolonged period was on anti-psychotic medication and was engaging with mental health professionals. However, from 2017 his mental health began to deteriorate and he started to suffer with bouts of paranoia – including paranoia about technology – as well as delusions, auditory hallucinations, and "thought broadcasting" where he believed other people could hear his thoughts. Over this time his family became increasingly concerned about his behaviour and welfare.

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By late 2020 Harrison - who was a talented joiner and bespoke furniture maker - was living in his rented workshop on a farm, and his appearance was described as "dishevelled" and it seemed he was not looking after his personal hygiene. The court heard he was also becoming paranoid about his parents and was calling them "fascists" and making allegations about them being involved in a Covid conspiracy. Increasingly alarmed at his behaviour Mr and Mrs Harrison continued to try to get a mental health assessment for their son.

Day two of the inquest heard that in January 2021 Will Johnston, an approved mental health professional or "Amhp", made a number of visits to Daniel Harrison to assess him. Mr Johnston's conclusion from the visits was that there was "no overt evidence" of any psychosis, and that Harrison was leading a "more alternative lifestyle" than perhaps his parents had wished for him. Giving evidence to the coroner Mr Johnston said Harrison "had presented stereotypically as someone who would be quite happy living in a teepee in west Wales" and had come across in their conversations as someone who was "gentle, intelligent and considerate" and who was "very passionate about his career and the environment". He said he formed the opinion that Harrison was living the way he was having made a "capacitated free choice" and concluded there were no grounds for seeking an application to detain him under the Mental Health Act. The witness said he had spoken to Dr Kim Harrison before the visit and was aware of the family's concerns about their son but he said the issues the Harrisons were reporting to him were not ones he saw for himself.

Why we cover inquests – and why it's so important that we do

As painful as these proceedings are for those who have lost a loved one the lessons that can be learned from inquests can go a long way to saving others’ lives.

The press has a legal right to attend inquests and has a responsibility to report on them as part of their duty to uphold the principle of open justice.

It’s a journalist’s duty to make sure the public understands the reasons why someone has died and to make sure their deaths are not kept secret. An inquest report can also clear up any rumours or suspicion surrounding a person’s death.

But, most importantly of all, an inquest report can draw attention to circumstances which may stop further deaths from happening.

Should journalists shy away from attending inquests then an entire arm of the judicial system is not held to account.

Inquests can often prompt a wider discussion on serious issues, the most recent of these being mental health and suicide.

Editors actively ask and encourage reporters to speak to the family and friends of a person who is the subject of an inquest. Their contributions help us create a clearer picture of the person who died and also provides the opportunity to pay tribute to their loved one.

Often families do not wish to speak to the press and of course that decision has to be respected. However, as has been seen by many powerful media campaigns, the input of a person’s family and friends can make all the difference in helping to save others.

Without the attendance of the press at inquests questions will remain unanswered and lives will be lost.

Questioned by barrister Bridget Dolan KC for Mrs Harrison the witness confirmed he had not tried to speak to Harrison's GP Dr Richard Tristham, and was not aware that the doctor had, like Harrison's parents, requested a mental health assessment be done. Asked if the fact that the GP's request had not been passed on to him meant "the system was not safe" he replied: "It seems reasonable to conclude that the system broke down on this occasion".

The barrister put it to the witness that given Harrison's history, if he had obtained all the information that was available from Harrison's family, friends, and his GP, if he had not "avoided asking difficult questions of Dan" during the meetings, and if he had not "closed his mind" to other professional points of view then he "should have known that Dan was having a relapse". The witness denied he had avoided asking difficult questions, saying felt the best chance of eliciting information from Harrison was by allowing him to "tell his story" rather than "firing questions" at him. He also denied having closed his mind to other options and other professional points of view, and said the large amount of information supplied by Mr and Mrs Harrison had provided "sufficient background to Dan".

Mr Johnston told the inquest that his observation of Harrison "did not match" the experiences being reported by the family, adding: "I was satisfied that Dan's expressed wishes about how he lived his life were not directly related to any acute psychotic episode." You can read about the first day of the inquest here where Mrs Harrison described her son's aggressive and disturbed behaviour at the family home.

By March 2022 Harrison was being detained at Ward F at Neath Port Talbot Hospital when, on the morning of the 12th, he absconded from the unit by pushing past a member of staff who was using a swipe card to unlock a door. The 37-year-old ran to Port Talbot bus station where he caught a taxi to Clydach before alighting at The Mond and then walking to his parents' detached house on the outskirts of the village.

Staff at the unit rang Harrison's mother, Jane, and told her he had left the hospital, and she and her husband responded by locking the doors and windows of their house. A short while later their son arrived at the property and began banging on the kitchen door. Mrs Harrison went into another room to call 999 and while on the phone she heard her husband opening the back door to their son. She returned to the kitchen to find her husband laying on the floor with catastrophic head and neck injuries and not breathing. Mrs Harrison, like her husband a retired doctor, put the gravely-injured man in the recovery position and called 999. The casualty was rushed to hospital but could not be saved.

Meanwhile Harrison walked to Morriston and caught a bus to the centre of Swansea. After buying food he caught a train to London. He was tracked down to a hotel in Paddington where he was arrested the following day by Met Police officers as he ran a bath. Harrison pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility when he appeared at Swansea Crown Court in August 2022 and was made the subject of a hospital order, and the court heard that given the nature of his mental disorders it may never be safe to release him back into the community.

The inquest, which is expected to last two weeks, continues.

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