'Fobbed off' and 'not listened to'...the missed opportunities which could have prevented a tragedy
manchestereveningnews.co.ukColin Neil loved his dad. They were ‘peas in a pod’, according to his mum, who would watch on as the pair launched into debates about what they had read or watched on TV.
Both shared a keen interest in current affairs and politics, and after catching their latest show, they would often have a frank discussion about what they had heard. “It drove me nuts,” said Monica Neil, who did not share that same keen interest. “That’s why they both got on great. “Colin always thought he was right about everything.” Speaking of her husband John, Colin’s father, she added: “He used to say ‘I’m going out of the room now, I’ll leave you to it’.” READ MORE: Threats against top lawyer, prison attacks and a brutal killing - the extraordinary traffic lights murder trial Their debates were always good natured, and didn’t end in acrimony.
That Colin would go on to kill his father, in the house in Timperley which the three shared, seems incredible. But on Sunday, July 9, last year, during a psychotic episode caused by an undiagnosed medical condition, that is exactly what he did.
Colin, 52, had been suffering from mental health issues for more than a decade prior to the tragedy. He had once lived independently, had a girlfriend and ran his own IT recruitment business.
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