A WOMAN who found her mother dead and her father unconscious in the family home had driven there to find out why he had missed a medical appointment, a court heard.
Jane O'Connell's heartbreaking account was revealed at a trial of her father, Peter Thurgarland.
A jury decided yesterday her depressed dad killed her mother, Julia.
Mr Thurgarland, who was not capable of taking part in a criminal trial, did not attend the hearing at Nottingham Crown Court.
The jury's decision meant a judge could lawfully rule Mr Thurgarland could be detained in a psychiatric hospital "without limit of time".
Mr Thurgarland strangled his wife with a piece of cord after an argument in the late afternoon of December 28.
Jane had found them when she called round after her father failed to attend an appointment for a psychiatric assessment.
"As I parked up, I knew something was up," she told police. "I had a gut feeling, as the curtains were drawn in the daytime. The main light was on in the Aga room.
"I left my daughters in the car. I gave them strict instructions not to follow me. It was all quiet."
Jane walked to the back of the family home at Low Farm, Maplebeck, near Southwell, and went in through as unlocked back door.
She saw her mother first, lying on her back, and then her 72-year-old father, a semi-retired farmer, sat in a chair in the Aga room.
She assumed he had taken an overdose, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
Jane, a nurse, contacted the ambulance service from the landline.She then went outside to her daughters and took them to a neighbour's house.
Michael Auty QC, for the Crown, said the family had become increasingly concerned about Mr Thurgarland's mental health.
"It was getting to the point of complete fixation about the risk of flooding and the possibility the family might be somehow rendered homeless."
When police arrived at Low Farm, they discovered furniture stacked up, legs of furniture wrapped in plastic or elevated on wooden blocks or plastic creates, in anticipation of flooding.
During police interviews, Mr Thurgarland confessed to killing his wife of 45 years, gave details about what he had done and accepted he strangled her.
He said they had been arguing over something and he had flipped and wrapped a cord around her neck.
Blood tests revealed Mr Thurgarland, who did not drink, had three-and-a-half times the level of alcohol to drive.
Psychiatrists have concluded he has a severe depressive illness and an element of psychotic illness, such as delusion.
Detective Chief Inspector Tony Heydon, who led the investigation, said: "The death of Julia Thurgarland at the hands of her husband, Peter, was a tragic family event. Their three children; Annie, Jane and David, have not only lost their mother but their father remains in hospital receiving treatment for his illness.
"The family have behaved with immense dignity in the face of this terrible tragedy and continue to fully support their father.
"Nobody could have predicted this sad event but sometime after November last year his mental health deteriorated and he took his wife's life and attempted to take his own.
"I would like to thank the community of Maplebeck for their support and cooperation throughout this inquiry as well as the officers, who performed their duty with sensitivity and professionalism."
