Willoughby man jailed for gross negligence manslaughter after partner's electrocution in Willoughby

Following a Warwickshire Police investigation, a Willoughby man has been sentenced to prison for gross negligence manslaughter.

43-year-old James Atkins of London Road in Willoughby, appeared at Warwick Crown Court yesterday, December 17, having previously been found guilty by a jury on Monday.

He was sentenced to six years and six months in prison.

At around 6.15pm on the evening of August 26 2017, James' partner, 40-year-old Deana Simpson, was electrocuted in a caravan the couple lived in on the farm.

The farm was owned by James’ father Trevor Atkins, and the caravan was powered by an on-site generator.

Deana was found collapsed by the cooker, having been preparing food for a BBQ.

When James tried to resuscitate her, he also received an electric shock.

He rang for an ambulance 15 minutes after Deana was found, and by the time paramedics arrived, all electrics had been switched off at the property.

A 999 recording of the call for an ambulance subsequently picked up a conversation about the electrics being switched off.

Deana was pronounced dead at the scene, and a post-mortem later confirmed her cause of death as electrocution.

The subsequent investigation established the generator had been worked on weeks earlier by James Atkins (who was not a qualified electrician) to fit a new invertor - despite him being told the work required a qualified electrician to undertake it.

Five days after the incident, a fully-qualified electrician (and a registered expert witness) attended the scene and examined the electrical installation.

He found it was in a poor and dangerous condition, and the potential for electric shock was immediately obvious, with poor and incorrect connections, no proper adequate earthing and no protective devices as required by manufacturer’s instructions.

Yesterday, James Atkins was sentenced to six years and six months in prison.

His father Trevor Atkins , 72 (also of London Road, Willoughby) had previously pleaded guilty to two health and safety violations.

Yesterday, he was sentenced to a 10 month sentence, suspended for two years.

It was deemed at court that Trevor had been complicit with the work his son had carried out on his property, and as an employer, he also had a duty to maintain the electrical system relating to the caravan so it was not dangerous.

As Deana lived in the caravan, he also had a duty of care and a duty to ensure she was not exposed to risks to her safety.

It was deemed he had therefore breached those duties.

Following the outcome, investigating officer Detective Constable Hazel Charlton from Warwickshire Police Major Investigation Unit said: “I would like to praise Deana’s family and friends for their patience and full co-operation throughout what has been a lengthy and often challenging process.

“They have had to come to terms with the sudden loss of a much loved family member and friend, and then had to endure a harrowing and protracted investigation to finally bring about a satisfactory conclusion to the circumstances surrounding Deana’s death.”

Following Monday’s court outcome Deane’s family issued this tribute to her:

“To our beautiful Mother, Daughter, Sister, Granddaughter, Auntie, Niece and Cousin.

“We think about you always,

We talk about you still,

You have never been forgotten,

And you never ever will,

We hold you close within our hearts,

And there you will always remain,

To walk and guide us through our lives,

Until we meet you again.

“Rest in perfect paradise our angel, we will love you forever.”

Deana’s family has asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.