Doctor stabbed his mum to death after facing eviction from family home, inquest heard

A doctor stabbed his mum to death after facing eviction from the family home before stopping his dad's desperate efforts to save her, an inquest heard. Mentally ill Andrew Nisbet, 45, fatally wounded Pamela Nisbet, 68, in the neck following a dispute about being allowed to stay in an annex.

He then fought with his dad who was trying to get into the kitchen to save the former Centenier and special-needs teacher from Jersey, who was later pronounced dead at the scene. The defendant denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter of Pamela, who was also an honorary police officer, on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

During sentencing in 2020 he was ordered to remain at a secure treatment facility in the UK until he is fit to be released. An inquest into her death was resumed in Jersey this week and heard that there was initially more concern he would take his own life than anyone elses.

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Police had been called to their home on mulitple occasions in the days before the murder, the inquest was told. The coroner also heard Nisbet had previously jumped out of a two-storey window following an earlier row with his father.

And the killer - who had severe autism spectrum disorder and Asperger syndrome – had said he would kill himself if he was evicted from the annexe.Community psychiatric nurse Ronan Mulhern told the hearing this week there had been no signs of clinical depression or psychiatric illness.

He added that at no stage did Andrew say anything and confirmed there was no history of violence. During one incident, when his father Patric, refused to install a heat pump, Nisbet leapt from the second-floor window, injuring both his legs.

Mr Mulhern told the hearing: "He had become fixated with the idea that it was his permanent home. He had a spiritual connection to the property.”

He said being told to move out had increased Andrew’s feelings of rejection and "precipitated a meltdown." He added: "He said he would rather die than go anywhere else."

Five days after the eviction, the tragedy unfolded at the property in St Peter on 6 August 2019. Nisbet returned from Scotland to Jersey with his family in November 2017 and moved into an annex in his parent's home.

Pamela and her husband saw it as a short-term solution, but he wanted to built a large separate home on the site. Nisbet then become “fixated” on the idea that he must stay and his mental health continued to deteriorate.

Eviction proceedings were started and a summons was served to their son on 2 August. A meeting was set up to discuss the eviction in the kitchen of the man house which saw the defendant's partner storm out after 20 minutes.

Three minutes later, Mr Nisbet, who was sat in a room next door, heard a scream and ran in to find his wife bleeding from her neck on the floor. She was still breathing but the defendant blocked his dad from going to her aid, a court earlier heard.

The father and son struggled for a few minutes before Mr Nisbet eventually forced his out. Police arrived and arrested Nisbet in the annex but paramedics were unable to save his victim.

After his arrest Nisbit was transferred to Brockfield House – a secure mental health facility in Essex. He has also been made subject to a restraining order to not contact or go near his family.

A statement was also issued by the the Nisbet family after Pamela's death, which read: "We love and miss Pam as a wife, mum and granny. Pam was a much loved Jersey resident who contributed to the island throughout her life. This was a family tragedy and we kindly request privacy during this difficult time."

The death of Pamela sent shockwaves through the local community. Mrs Nisbet served as a Centenier and later as a lay-member of the Youth Court Panel between 1996 and 2005. More recently she sat as a lay-member on the Law Society of Jersey’s Disciplinary Panel between 2007 and 2017.

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