Man killed his partner before overdosing - court

The bodies were found at Jonathan Parsons' flat in Mersea Road, Colchester

A man killed his partner with a hammer before taking a fatal drug overdose, a coroner ruled.

Police found the bodies of Jonathan Parsons, 34, and Kelly Greer, 41, at a flat in Mersea Road, Colchester, in May 2023.

An inquest into their deaths found Ms Greer died from "severe traumatic head injuries" inflicted repeatedly on her by Mr Parsons with "murderous intent".

Senior coroner for Essex, Lincoln Brookes, said Mr Parsons then misused a number of painkiller drugs in order to take his own life.

He concluded Ms Greer was unlawfully killed by Mr Parsons, whose death was recorded as drug-related.

Mr Brookes previously said their deaths were "a tragedy on so many levels".

Their bodies were found together at Mr Parsons' flat on 30 May 2023.

Kelly Greer was a vulnerable individual, a previous hearing was told

A previous hearing at Essex Coroner's Court was told the pair had been involved with mental health services.

Ms Greer had "vulnerabilities" and a history involving substance abuse, the court was told.

Concluding the inquest on Monday, Mr Brookes said Mr Parsons died of complications of multi-drug toxicity.

He added that some of the drugs were prescribed to him, but others were not.