Woman shot dead outside Kent pub was trying to leave relationship, inquest hears
An inquest heard that Lisa Smith told her sister she was leaving her husband before he shot her in a car park on Valentine’s Day; his body was later found in the River Thames.
A woman shot dead outside a pub in Kent on Valentine’s Day had told relatives she was leaving her husband, an inquest has heard.
Coroner Katrina Hepburn was told that Lisa Smith, 43, of Slough, was shot three times in the car park of the Three Horseshoes pub in Knockholt, Kent, on 14 February and died at the scene despite efforts by an off-duty firefighter to resuscitate her. Det Sgt James Dolby told the inquest that Ms Smith had told her sister earlier the same day that she intended to leave Edward Smith.
The inquest heard that Mr Smith had been looking for Ms Smith and calling her repeatedly before he arrived at the pub and began shouting for her. Ms Smith left the pub and sat in a friend’s car; Mr Smith initially drove away but then reversed and blocked the car park exit. The exchange and shooting lasted less than two minutes, the hearing was told.
Police said Mr Smith fired four shots at close range; Ms Smith was struck twice in the neck and once in the chest. A handgun, live ammunition, a knife and a mobile phone were later recovered from a vehicle connected to Mr Smith.
After the shooting, Mr Smith entered a fish and chip shop and drew the gun to demand a knife as he made his way towards the Dartford area, the inquest was told. At about 8:30 p.m. on 14 February, Mr Smith sent a voice note to a relative saying: "We have had a bit of tragedy today. I have just shot my wife, Lisa. If you can please pray for my family because things aren't looking good."
Mr Smith phoned another person during the evening and was told, according to evidence given at the inquest, "you don't need to do this, god is not ready to take you, it will all be fine." He is believed to have entered the River Thames near the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge in Dartford and his body was recovered later.
Kent Police told the inquest that Ms Smith was fatally wounded at the scene. Coroner Hepburn recorded that Ms Smith had been "killed unlawfully." Det Sgt Dolby provided much of the factual account to the hearing, including the short duration of the incident and the sequence in which Mr Smith blocked the exit and opened fire.
The inquest assembled a timeline of the evening: Ms Smith informing her sister of her intention to leave, Mr Smith searching for and calling her, the confrontation in the car park, the immediate aftermath in which Mr Smith sought a knife at a shop, the voice message he sent admitting the shooting, and his subsequent entry into the river. No further legal proceedings are reported in the evidence presented at the inquest.
The hearing did not set out a motive beyond the evidence that Ms Smith had been planning to end the relationship. The coroner’s formal conclusion that the killing was unlawful will be recorded in the inquest findings, which aim to establish the factual circumstances of both deaths for the public record.