A former nurse who repeatedly hit her parents to death
in their Bournemouth home with an ornamental iron has been found
guilty of murder.
The verdict on Susan Carole Toop – who lived with her parents at
a bungalow in Uplands Road, Charminster, Bournemouth – came at the
end of a 10 day trial at Winchester Crown Court.
Fifty-four year old Toop, who worked as a ward nurse at the
Royal Bournemouth Hospital, is set to be sentenced at the Royal
Court of Justice in London on Thursday, 30 September 2010.
The bodies of Arthur Robert Toop, aged 82, and Joan Susan
Eleanor Toop, aged 74, were found in their Uplands Road bungalow by
police on the evening of Friday, 28 November 2008.
Officers also found Susan Toop with self-inflicted wounds to her
wrists and throat. Toop was detained by police on suspicion of
murder and taken to Poole Hospital for treatment before being taken
to the Salisbury Hospital at Odstock in Wiltshire under police
escort.
Officers had attended the property after receiving several phone
calls from neighbours worried about the welfare of the occupants
who they were unable to contact.
A forensic post mortem was carried out on the elderly couple by
a Home Office pathologist at Dorset County Hospital to determine
the cause of their deaths.
It was concluded that Arthur Robert Toop died of multiple blunt
force head and sharp force chest injuries while his wife Joan Susan
Eleanor Toop died of multiple blunt force head injuries.
Detective Inspector Neil Devoto, of Dorset Police’s Major Crime
Investigation Team, said: "This was a shocking and unusual crime in
which two elderly and innocent people lost their lives as a result
of a sustained and frenzied attack by their daughter.
"It was accepted in court that Susan Toop had suffered from a
mental disorder for a number of years. However, the jury felt that
this was not the cause of the events of that night.
"Susan Toop’s actions were calculated and deliberate. The fact
that someone who spent so much of her life working as a nurse and
caring for others could be responsible for killing two vulnerable
people makes this all the more alarming.
"From the very instant that the attending officers were greeted
with the disturbing scene at Uplands Road, Dorset Police was
determined to ensure that Susan Toop was called to account for her
fatal actions.
"Today’s result came about after a detailed, lengthy and
professional investigation by the Major Crime Investigation Team
and I would like to praise all of those involved.
"In particular, I would like to acknowledge the work of
Detective Sergeant Dave Richards – whose diligence, professionalism
and eye for detail has proved crucial.
"This is a tragedy for family and friends and my thoughts are
with them at this difficult time."