Winsford shooting: Dog breeder killed wife before killing himself

Police were called to a cottage in Winsford, Somerset, at 14:30 GMT on 22 February

A dog breeder shot and killed his estranged wife before turning the gun on himself, an inquest heard.

John Zurick, 67, and Deborah Zurick, 56, separated in November 2019 after she started a new relationship.

She returned to collect belongings in February 2020 but was twice shot in the back outside their cottage in Winsford, Somerset.

A coroner concluded Mrs Zurick was unlawfully killed and Mr Zurick's death was due to suicide.

They were neighbours of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father Stanley, who paid tribute to Mrs Zurick after her death.

Taunton Coroner's Court heard police had seized guns from Mr Zurick, who held a gun licence, on 5 February.

Shot in head

He had been arrested that day for drink driving and expressed an intention to harm himself but used a different shotgun to kill his wife and himself, the inquest heard.

Mr Zurick had shot his wife before shooting himself in the head in an outbuilding on 22 February.

The inquest heard Mrs Zurick would have died a short time after suffering shotgun wounds to her chest.

The property where the Zuricks died is next to Stanley Johnson's rural estate in Somerset

Mr Zurick was airlifted to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, Devon, where he died from a fatal shotgun wound to the head on 27 February.

Avon and Somerset Police would have prosecuted him for murder had he survived, the hearing was told.

Friends said Mr Zurick had "an issue with alcohol" and that Mrs Zurick had confided in them that he was verbally abusive to her when drunk.

Heidrun Humphries sent Mr Zurick a message on 22 February saying she hoped that Mrs Zurick's visit had gone well.

'So sorry'

He replied: "Didn't go too well. So sorry." In a further message, Mr Zurick told her: "Debbie is dead. I will be in a moment. So sorry."

Statements were read from two police officers who seized guns from the cottage after Mr Zurick's arrest.

They said Mr Zurick had led them to two gun cabinets in the house and told them there were no other weapons in the property.

The inquest heard it has not been established who the shotgun used in the incident belonged to or why it was at the cottage.

An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) did not identify any learning for Avon and Somerset Police for how the firearms seizure was handled, Tony Williams, senior coroner for Somerset said.