College head's sister 'trying to forgive' killer

Former Epsom College head teacher Emma Pattison and her daughter Lettie

The family of a boarding school head teacher who was unlawfully killed with her young daughter by her husband before he turned the gun on himself say they are "trying to forgive" him.

George Pattison shot Emma Pattison and their seven-year-old daughter, Lettie, without lawful reason at Epsom College in February 2023, senior coroner Richard Travers concluded at Surrey Coroner’s Court on Tuesday.

He concluded that Pattison died by suicide after he shot himself with the same gun.

All three were found dead at their home within the grounds of the private school.

Deborah Kirk, the sister of Mrs Pattison, told the inquest she was still trying to forgive Mr Pattison.

“I can only speak for myself when I say that I am trying to forgive you,” she said.

Ms Kirk added: “I can only imagine that you were in an extraordinary hell of your own.”

Emma Pattison, seen here with her husband and daughter, became the first female head of Epsom College in September 2022

A previous inquest heard Mrs Pattison, 45, died of shotgun wounds to the chest and abdomen, while Lettie was shot in the head.

Ms Kirk told Tuesday's hearing she received a phone call from her sister just before 23:00 GMT on 4 February, telling her that her husband had hit her and their dog, Bella.

She said her sister told her: "I need someone to come over."

Her sister's tone of voice was one of "concern, but not of terror", the inquest heard.

"It was more like she had assessed the situation and did not feel safe," she said.

'Razor smart'

Ms Kirk said she and her husband, Mark Miller, got to her sister's home just after 23:00 GMT after getting concerned when her sister was not answering her phone.

When they arrived, all of the lights were on and the cars were in the driveway, the inquest heard.

Mr Miller entered the house ahead of Ms Kirk, and then stopped her from coming in any further once she entered.

"He said don't go in there, don't go in there, we are going outside," Ms Kirk told the inquest.

Mr Miller called an ambulance, and paramedics arrived on the scene shortly afterwards.

Ms Kirk also read out a tribute to her sister and niece at the inquest.

She said: "Emma was lightness itself."

She said her sister was "smart" and kind in a way that "fills a room" and "drives change".

She described her niece, Lettie, as "razor smart, curious, and disarmingly cute".

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