Husband, 63, strangled and stabbed wife, 53, to death, inquest hears

A wife tried to fight off her tree surgeon husband as he strangled her and stabbed her to death with a hammer before taking his own life, an inquest into her death heard.

'Ray of sunshine' Suratchanee 'Lat' Parks, 53, was found dead beside Richard Parks, 63, in the first-floor bathroom of their Tunbridge Wells home in Kent, a year before they planned to retire and move to Thailand.

When police arrived at the house on February 23 this year, they discovered a large pool of blood in the kitchen, bloodstains on the stairs and in every room of the house. 

The couple's neighbours said they were quiet and 'kept themselves to themselves,' Kent Online reported. 

Mrs Parks, who worked at a nail bar and Thai massage parlour, was found in the bath with her legs up in a pool of blood. 

Her husband, who was a decade older than her, was found on the floor with his legs sticking into the hallway and covered in blood from a stab wound to his neck.

Pathologist Dr Virginia Fitzpatrick-Swallow said Mrs Parks had minor injuries that suggested she fought back.

However, she had neck wounds consistent with strangling and her skull had been fractured.

She had deep cuts on her wrists, had been stabbed in the neck and had been hit a number of times on her head, most probably with a claw hammer found near her body. 

Detective Constable Jessica Summers, who investigated the case, said their marriage had been called 'happy and without problems'. 

Yet a large HMRC tax bill seemed to have affected the couple's financial stability and it meant they may have had to push back their retirement. 

Mrs Parks' employer the London Nail Company said: 'It is with an extremely heavy heart that we have to announce the passing of our lovely Lat.

'We are all deeply saddened by this loss. Lat was the most gentle, kindest soul, and she will be sorely missed.

'We are beyond saddened at this news and our hearts are truly broken. Lat was a little ray of sunshine and she put a smile on many people's faces. 

'She will be missed beyond words.'  

Coroner Roger Hatch ruled that Mrs Parks was killed unlawfully and her husband Richard Parks had taken his own life.