Tributes have been paid to a GP who served the Royal Family after her body was found at her home during a children's sleepover. Dr Hannah Cain, 45, was discovered dead at her address in Fern Hill, Dersingham, close to the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, in the early hours of October 4.
Her husband, Mark Cain, 45, also of Fern Hill, Dersingham, was detained following the incident and has been charged with her murder. He appeared at Norwich Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, where he spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth. He was not required to enter a plea.
Details of the incident
Prosecutor Jacqui Hanlon told the court that emergency services alerted police at 2.25am on October 4. Dr Cain was “found in an upstairs bedroom not breathing, not conscious”. “She was attended to by paramedics,” Ms Hanlon said.
A post-mortem examination “noted blunt force injury to the right side of her head had been inflicted, also an injury that could be suggestive of compression of the neck”. Ms Hanlon added: “There were children present in the property at the time.”
Family tribute
District judge Matthew Bone told Cain: “I send your case to the King's Lynn Crown Court where you will appear tomorrow (Thursday) in the morning, and I remand you in custody.”
Later on Wednesday, Norfolk police released a statement from her family. It said: “We are devastated by the loss of our beautiful Hannah. She was kind, generous and loving; a beloved mother, daughter, sister, auntie, daughter-in-law and friend. We are incredibly proud of the woman she was and of the great care she took of all her patients who knew her as Dr Terry. We would ask people to respect our privacy at this difficult time.”
Career and royal connection
Fern Hill sits just over a mile from Sandringham House, one of the royal residences belonging to the King and Queen. Dr Cain, who practised under the name Dr Hannah Terry, was registered as part of the medical team at Grimston Medical Centre.
She worked within a roster of doctors who were routinely on standby for Royal Family members in the vicinity, as initially revealed by The Sun newspaper. Based on the website for her business venture Norfolk Sky Aesthetics, Dr Cain had practised medicine for more than 15 years and worked as a GP for eight. She described herself as a “caring and professional doctor” who balanced her GP duties with her cosmetics enterprise.
