Susan Toop accused of bludgeoning parents to death at Charminster home

Susan Toop attacked father Arthur, 82, and mother Joan, 74, at the family’s bungalow in Charminster, Bournemouth, in November 2008, the Winchester Crown Court jury was told.

Police discovered Toop with a slashed throat and wrists, sobbing she “couldn’t cope” and that she wanted to put her parents “out of their misery”.

But Timothy Mousley QC, prosecuting, said both mother and father had enjoyed relatively good health and a decent quality of life.

Toop, 54, denies the double murder but yesterday pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Mr Mousley told the jury Toop, an outpatients nurse at Royal Bournemouth Hospital, was unmarried and lived with her parents.

She had a close relationship with her father, he added, but a more fractious one with her mother.

Toop found her mother “domineering” and the pair may not have been talking at the time of the incident, the court heard.

Suspicions were first raised when Mrs Toop failed to show up for a hair appointment and concerned friends were then turned away from the family home that night, the jury was told.

Police were called and arrived to find Toop with a deep 10cm cut across her own throat.

Her father was discovered dead in his armchair and her mother was found lifeless on the bedroom floor.

Mr Mousley said both parents suffered fatal brain injuries due to repeated blows to the head, while Mr Toop was also stabbed several times in the chest.

The 2kg ornamental flat iron and three bloodstained knives were recovered from the house.

In police interview, Toop said she felt her parents wanted to end their lives and that she wanted to help them.

She claimed to have drugged both herself and her parents with sleeping tablets before the attacks, but said she remembered nothing of the subsequent events.

Toop also admitted to “burying her head in the sand” in relation to her “substantial debts”, the court heard.

The case continues.