|
|
 |
| |
Professor Lee Johnson |
Revealed: Carers tried to save dad from killer son
Mentally ill musician detained indefinitely for brutal attack linked to anti-epilepsy drug
SOCIAL services held emergency talks on moving an art historian to secure accommodation amid fears for his safety just months before he was killed by his son, the New Journal has learned.
Professor Lee Johnson, 81, was beaten up and left to die in a house fire started by his son Michael in July 2006. Both men were rescued from the blaze but Professor Johnson died from shock in hospital.
The tragedy that unfolded at the family home in Lyndhurst Road, Hampstead, was described this week as “avoidable”.
As Michael Johnson, 49, was sentenced on Monday to indefinite detention under the Mental Health Act following his conviction for manslaughter, a history of violence and warning signs which set alarm bells ringing in the heads of carers emerged.
It is understood that witness reports read by the Old Bailey judge handling the case reveal how Camden’s social services had growing fears for the professor’s safety throughout autumn 2005.
One social worker is reported to have met Professor Johnson on several occasions and spoken regularly on the phone.
The reports, which were not read to the court, also suggest a carer raised concerns after bumps and bruises were found on Professor Johnson, apparently after a wastepaper basket was thrown at him.
Camden Council also held a file revealing a well-documented “history of violence” committed by Michael Johnson, including attacks on his Bulgarian wife, Gerghane, who had been one of his father’s carers, other care workers and his father. It spanned two years.
Records show Michael Johnson was arrested in October 2004 after punching a carer, splitting his lip. At Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court he was fined and ordered to pay compensation.
He split with his wife in 2003 after just nine months and later had the notion that Bulgarian secret police were tracking him.
In the same year, Professor Johnson suffered a crippling stroke. He was already struggling with a serious blood disease.
The art writer, who was considered the world’s leading authority on painter Eugene Delacroix, had confided in friends that he was worried his son would squander his inheritance, according to the reports.
The Old Bailey heard that Michael Johnson’s mood swings and irritability were linked to his severe epilepsy and the drugs he was taking to avoid convulsions.
Defence counsel Nigel Lithman, QC, said: “Under no normal circumstances would Michael Johnson dream of harming his father.”
However, he described Johnson as a danger to the public whose detention at Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield should be “without limit”.
Dr Peter Fenwick, one of the country’s leading epilepsy experts, said Keppra, the drug Johnson was being prescribed, was controversial.
“It is well known for three major effects,” he said. “It’s extremely good for seizure cessation. Secondly, it makes people very irritable, and thirdly it can induce encephalopathy [brain disease] and from that can arise psychosis. A number of my patients do develop psychosis.”
Of the effect it had on Johnson, he added: “His personality changed. He became much more aggressive, paranoid and erratic.”
Mr Lithman said the death of Johnson’s mother – “a source of support and a mediator between him and his father” – created tension between them.
It was also revealed that his mother had suffered from bipolar disorder while his father’s family had a history of epilepsy.
Wearing a blue sports jacket zipped to the neck, Johnson, a musician, listened as Recorder of London Judge Peter Beaumont described the killing as a “really appalling act”.
Judge Beaumont said it was “necessary for the protection of the public from serious harm at his hands” that Johnson be held under the Mental Health Act.
“At the time of the offences he was suffering from a mental illness... of a nature that makes it appropriate for him to be detained in a hospital,” said the judge.
Mr Lithman described the killing as a “tragedy” that could have been avoided. “The drugs and his epilepsy brought him to this act,” he said. “This tragedy has arisen as a result of the delusion within Michael Johnson’s mind after what was a solid relationship, and under no normal circumstances would he dream of harming his father.”
A council spokeswoman said: “At the time of Mr Johnson’s death, he was receiving home care support from adult community care services and Camden Careline. He attended two of Camden’s day centres. He had a Careline pendant alarm.
“Professor Lee Johnson’s death was a deeply shocking tragedy and he will be fondly remembered by the people who cared for him and the friends he’d made at the Charlie Ratchford centre.
“We did what we could to protect Professor Johnson, including calling the police in for advice. But Professor Johnson wanted to continue to see his son alone. Neither the council nor the police could stop that.” |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
