He Locked Her Husband Away, Then Beat Her to Death with a Golf Umbrella — So Why Was His Sentence So Short?

The family of an 86-year-old woman who was beaten to death in England while her husband was trapped in the kitchen, said that her killer escaped a “life sentence” after being sentenced to only six years in prison. 

David Parish, 38, was being held at a mental health unit on March 27, 2023 when he escaped and fled to a nearby village, according to a news release from Avon and Somerset Police. 

Parish was “actively psychotic” with schizophrenia, having smoked cannabis at the time of the attack, the Guardian reported. However, a psychiatric report submitted for his sentencing said he was no longer suffering from the mental disorder.

Police say that when Parish escaped, he went to a nearby barber to get a haircut and his beard shaved off. During the trial, prosecutors said that Parish then tried to pull a man out of his car when he was driving away but was unsuccessful, according to the police statement. 

Avon and Somerset police said Parish then visited a nearby home when he attacked 86-year-old Beryl Purdy with an umbrella. She succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police arrested Parish that same night at 8:40 p.m. when patrol officers noticed him walking alongside a road, their statement said. Parish told officers that he was returning home from work at a local farm and gave them a fake name. 

Parish was initially sectioned to a secure facility in Devon where he was later released into custody and charged, per the police statement. Authorities say that Parish had been “of previous good character and he did not know Beryl Purdy.”

After pleading guilty in January to the killing of Purdy, Parish was sentenced to six years in prison, according to a police statement. 

Purdy, known to her family as Bez Purdy, was loved by the Broomfield community and had been a church warden for 20 years before her untimely death, per the statement. 

“We are serving a life sentence of torment knowing that we were unable to save Bez from her attacker and the outcome of sentencing today means that her attacker avoids a life sentence,” Purdy’s family said in a statement to police. “We would not wish our hell on any other family and urge for a review of how the community can be protected from people with severe mental health issues.”

Detective Debbie Hatch mentioned that the difficulty of the case highlighted the intersection between mental health and criminal justice, “While the defendant’s illness does not excuse his actions, it has been recognized as a key factor in the tragic events which unfolded,” she said in a statement. 

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Detective Hatch added that it was distressing that Purdy was killed in her own home and wanted to pay tribute to the life she left behind. 

“She was described by those who knew her as an incredibly caring lady and beloved by all who met her. Her death has left a profound void in the lives of many, and we hope today’s outcome provides at least a degree of closure to those mourning her loss,” Hatch said.