A mother suffocated her nine-year-old son before taking her own life, an inquest has heard.
Tasmin Paterson, 31, and Hudson Paterson, nine, were found dead at a property in the Fletchersbridge area of Bodmin, Cornwall, in September 2024.
Relationship breakdown
An inquest into their deaths on Monday heard there had been a breakdown in the relationship between Ms Paterson and her partner, Marcus Hughes, before he found mother and son dead in a bedroom at the home they shared.
Cornwall Coroner’s Court heard Ms Paterson, who had previously separated from Hudson’s father in an “amicable” split, was living at the property in Bodmin with Mr Hughes.
Mr Hughes told the inquest the relationship had grown “fraught” and became particularly strained after she discovered he had been on a dating site.
He said: “We’d not broken up necessarily but we were on the verges, I felt. She believed it was to do with her ongoing health issues, but there were more things going on than that.”
Mr Hughes told the inquest that Ms Paterson had experienced some health difficulties, having suffered a head injury and subsequent mobility problems, and the couple were also coming under strain from financial and housing issues.
Events leading to deaths
The inquest heard Hudson was “poorly” the evening before he died and so his mother said she would share a room with him, which was not an “unusual” arrangement.
Mr Hughes said he had no concerns until the following morning, when the pair did not appear to have woken.
He knocked and shouted their names from behind the door to the room, which was locked, and became increasingly alarmed when he heard no response.
Having called the police, he broke down the door and discovered the bodies of Ms Paterson and Hudson inside.
No previous concerns
Ms Paterson was described at the inquest as a “doting” mother, and family members said they never had any reason to suspect she would harm her son.
Aaron Paterson, her ex-husband and Hudson’s father, said their split had been “amicable” and Hudson had been “everything” to his mother.
He said: “She loved him with all of her heart and Hudson was her everything. She never hurt him, never raised a hand to him, never screamed in his ear or anything along those lines. I never had reason to be cautious or suspicious.”
An investigation by police “very quickly recognised” Mr Hughes had not been involved in either death, the coroner said.
Coroner’s conclusion
Senior coroner Andrew Cox said: “The evidence of the police is that it is more likely than not that Hudson has died because he has been asphyxiated by Tasmin.
“That is a shocking turn of events, it is difficult to comprehend but I accept that evidence and as a matter of fact I find that is what has happened.
“It is far more likely than not that Tasmin has taken her own life and intended to do so.”
He concluded Ms Paterson’s death resulted from suicide, and that Hudson died from an unlawful killing.
