An inquest heard that a woman was shot and killed by her husband outside a pub on Valentine’s Day. Lisa Smith, 43, was tragically shot twice in the neck in the car park of The Three Horseshoes in Knockholt, Kent, on February 14th of this year.
Before the incident, Lisa had confided in her sister that she was leaving her husband, Edward Smith, and had taken a train from their home in Slough to stay with family in Kent. However, Mr. Smith managed to track her down at the pub that evening and proceeded to block her friend’s car with his own before firing four shots with a handgun.
On Wednesday, area coroner Katrina Hepburn determined that Ms. Smith’s death was a result of unlawful killing and noted the "requisite intent from Edward Smith to kill her or cause her really serious harm." Tragically, after shooting his wife, Mr. Smith, also known as Edvard Stockings, sent voice notes to someone he referred to as "Nana," confessing, "I’ve shot Lisa, she’s dead." He then took his own life by jumping off the Queen Elizabeth II bridge in Dartford later that same evening.
In one of the voice notes, he mentioned suicide and expressed hope to be reunited with his wife in heaven. Detective Sergeant James Dolby testified that Ms. Smith was picked up at Orpington station by her friends and sister shortly before the tragic event unfolded at the pub.
The altercation escalated when Mr. Smith arrived at the pub and engaged in a verbal dispute with Ms. Smith’s sister, Laura, who labeled him a "narcissist." Following this confrontation, Mr. Smith proceeded to block the Seat car from leaving and fired the first two shots from his handgun from inside his vehicle.
The coroner described how Mr. Smith pulled forward in the car and fired a second shot before exiting the vehicle with arms outstretched, holding a handgun and firing a shot through the driver’s side car window. The fatal shot that resulted in Ms. Smith’s death was the third one, followed by another close-range shot from the passenger side.
Despite efforts from the public and emergency services to administer CPR, Ms. Smith succumbed to her injuries at 7:42 pm. The coroner concluded that there was clear intent to find Lisa Smith after she left her home address and that the blocking of the car prevented any escape route.
An inquest into the death of Mr. Smith is scheduled to take place later this afternoon. For further updates and news stories, you can read more from Sky News:
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Photo Credits: A police cordon outside the Three Horseshoes pub. Pic: PA
Photo Credits: Forensics at the scene after the shooting
Photo Credits: Tributes left at the scene following the shooting