Dec 08 – Boschetti’s Steps Man “Suffered From Severe Paranoia” – Picture Of Troubled Man Emerges On Day Two Of Inquest
The man believed to have murdered his partner, her four-year-old daughter and their six-week-old baby, before then killing himself in a home in Boschetti’s Steps, is said to have suffered from severe paranoia and hallucinations which, combined with his long-term use of cannabis and steroids, put him at greater risk of suicide.
Giving evidence on the second day of the joint inquest, forensic clinical psychologist Dr Adrian West said Liverpool-born John Joseph Shannon was “so alarmed and distressed that the Lebanese were out to kill him” and that his partner Anarda De La Caridad Perez Friman was trying to poison him that he took pre-emptive action against himself and her.
He added: “I cannot explain his intention for his actions against Amanda Kritoffersen Perez and baby Eve Shannon Perez other than he saw them as an extension of their mother.” In response to questions from the family, Dr West said Mr Shannon may have had an "altruistic motivation" when wanting to save Eve from those he feared.
Dr West said it is very likely Mr Shannon showed marked distress as a result of his fear of an imminent threat to his life. He arrived in Gibraltar with his partner, her child and their young baby because Gibraltar was the only place he felt safe.
While living in Boschetti’s Steps he produced a homemade knife sheaf which he strapped to his leg. As he heard voices outside the front door, he kept it locked.
Dr West said there were several factors which could have led to Mr Shannon’s breakdown, which included unemployment, the birth of their baby, the possibility of going back to prison when returning to the UK after fleeing to Spain while on bail for the cultivation and possession of marijuana. It was also revealed that the long-term cannabis use combined with steroid use for bodybuilding could have had an adverse effect on his character as well as his “lack of control of aggression”.
Messages To His Mother and Stepfather
In the Whatsapp messages to his stepfather and mother that were read out in Gibraltar Coroner’s Court, it was revealed that Mr Shannon said he feared for his life, believing that some Lebanese contractors were after him and his organs and those of Baby Eve, and if they managed to get hold of her they would “pimp her”.
He also believed that he would be put in prison in Spain and feared the inmates would kill him because they would think that he was a paedophile, and that the police wouldn’t defend him because they were working in collusion.
In the messages to his stepfather who whom he referred to as “Dad”, Mr Shannon also said he believed his mother was dead. In his messages to a friend and his stepfather, Mr Shannon said he wanted to die. The last message to his stepfather, sent at 3.15am in the early hours of Monday 30th March read: “Done. Eject now.”
It was only after receiving this final message that Mr Shannon’s stepfather came to realise that something was wrong. The court heard that it was shortly after that time that neighbours reported hearing screams coming from the apartment at 2 Boschetti Steps, as well as desperate crying from a little girl.
John Shannon’s Early Years
The Coroner’s Court was told that John Shannon was born in Liverpool, and at the age of three his parents got divorced. He moved to Wales after his mother met her new partner and, together with Mr Shannon’s sister, the family ran a guest house.
Mr Shannon attended the local college but was suspended when he was 15 and started working in the guest house. He was sent to Saudi Arabia and Lebanon to work with his father and then returned to the UK in 2002 to work in the family taxi business.
It was while he was in the UK in around 2009 when he was arrested and charged with the cultivation and possession of marijuana. While he was on bail, he absconded to Spain.
Mr Shannon moved back to the UK in early 2013. However, after failing to find employment he would sit around the house and smoke cannabis, and, although he stopped taking steroids, he had started taking other muscle-building substances. The family were concerned about how he would flare up, sometimes at the most insignificant of things.
Coroner Charles Pitto was told Mr Shannon met Ms Perez Friman in April 2014, and she became pregnant shortly after. They moved in together and Eve was eventually born, however he struggled in his relationship with Amanda and his partner’s daughter from a previous relationship, as she only spoke in Spanish.
It was during this time he told his mother and stepfather he was growing physically strong in case he had to go back to prison in the UK. The court heard he had previous convictions for shoplifting, burglary, assault occasioning in bodily harm and that a search warrant had been executed at his home in Estepona for the cultivation and possession of marijuana.
Afternoon Update
Dr Salem Fouda, Forensic Medical Examiner for the Royal Gibraltar Police, and Sigurd Haveland, Paramedic and Resilience Special Operations Officer with the GHA Ambulance Services, gave evidence at the Coroner's Court this afternoon. Mr Haveland said he had come to realise that the four individuals were dead because they were "cold to touch and pale".
The inquest continues tomorrow.
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