Home / Crime and Justice / Mother Kills Son, Then Herself, Coroner Finds
Mother Kills Son, Then Herself, Coroner Finds
27 Jul
Summary
- A nine-year-old boy was unlawfully killed by his mother.
- The mother then took her own life, a coroner has concluded.
- The partner discovered the bodies in a bedroom in Cornwall.

A deeply distressing inquest has concluded that a nine-year-old boy, Hudson Paterson, was unlawfully killed by his mother, Tasmin Paterson, who then took her own life. The tragic discovery was made by Ms. Paterson's partner, Marcus Hughes, in a bedroom of their bungalow near Bodmin, Cornwall.
Senior coroner for Cornwall, Andrew Cox, found that Ms. Paterson, who had argued with Mr. Hughes and was distressed about their relationship possibly ending, decided to end her own life. The evidence suggests she killed her son first, unable to bear the thought of separation.
Hudson's father, Aaron Paterson, described his son as his mother's world and expressed that she was not capable of such an act. However, the coroner accepted the police evidence indicating the mother was responsible for her son's death before her own.