Man killed his partner before overdose, court told

Police officers cordoned off the entrance to Jonathan Parsons' flat following the discovery of two bodies

Police officers believe a man "unlawfully killed" his partner at his home before taking his own life, a hearing was told.

Emergency services went to the flat in Mersea Road, Colchester, on 30 May 2023, and found the bodies of Jonathan Parsons, 34, and Kelly Greer, 41.

An earlier pre-inquest review heard detectives believed Ms Greer came to harm "due to the acts" of Mr Parsons, who later died of a drug overdose.

Senior coroner for Essex, Lincoln Brookes, said a full inquest into the pair's deaths would be held across two days in November.

Essex Police said Ms Greer had "sustained injuries" prior to her death, in an update last May.

Senior coroner for Essex, Lincoln Brookes, said the case was a "tragedy on so many levels"

The hearing at Essex coroner's court was told both Ms Greer and Mr Parsons had previously been involved with local mental health services.

Ms Greer, who was Mr Parsons' partner at the time, had "vulnerabilities" and a history involving substance abuse, the court was told.

"The police investigation suggests that this is... an unlawful killing of Kelly Greer and that was due to the acts of Jonathan Parsons, who died subsequently," Mr Brookes said.

He asked interested persons involved in the case, including Essex Police and housing association Peabody, to serve reports to him ahead of November's inquest.

The coroner added: "This is a tragedy on so many levels".

A previous inquest hearing was told Mr Parsons' provisional cause of death was recorded as complications of multi-drug toxicity.