A HUSBAND tragically killed the wife he loved due to paranoia over her care.

87-year-old Ronald King was suffering from brain damage when he shot his wife through the eye and killed her at De La Mer House care home in Walton.

The brain damage was only detected following an MRI scan conducted on July 1.

Ronald King admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and was cleared of murder by the jury at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday.

Rita King, 81, was killed at the home in Naze Park Road on December 28.

She was suffering from mixed dementia and her health was deteriorating.

Ronald King was also suffering from frontal lobe dementia meaning he was unable to form rational judgements and became obsessed with the care home, according to experts.

During the trial Ronald King claimed staff were drugging and stealing from residents, refused to change them or care for them.

He told the jury he shot his wife in the residents’ lounge to “show them up” and get the home closed down.

Yesterday the court heard, from forensic psychiatrist Dr Philip Joseph, he was suffering from paraphrenia, a type of late onset paranoia at the time and still now.

Dr Joseph said: “He gave a litany of complaints against the care home.

“There was an intensity about the way he was talking about his beliefs.

“It appears he was quite obsessed and pre-occupied by what he perceived as the goings on at the care home.”

The court heard he knew what he was doing, had planned it and meant to do it but all because he could no longer form a rational judgement.

Dr Joseph said the condition and damage is likely to have evolved over the years.

There had never been aggression towards his wife in the past, no domestic violence and no criminal history.

Dr Joseph concluded Ronald King’s acts were “based on a false premise”, namely the care home was failing and mistreating her.

This false premise was more likely than not to be due to his mental condition and the paranoia continued.

And, combined with the access he had to a gun, it made a tragic combination.

King admitted possession of a prohibited firearm and possession of ammunition without a certificate on the opening day of the trial.

Det Insp Alan Pitcher, from Essex Police, spoke following the verdict.

He said: “I would like to pay tribute to Ronald and Rita’s families for the support that they have provided to our investigation and the dignity that they have shown throughout.

"This is a particularly sad and tragic case and my thoughts are very much with them at this time."

Speaking after the trial the family of Rita King, said: "The tragedy of what happened has had an impact on the whole family. We are a large but close family.

"We would never have imagined what happened to Rita. It has shocked us all and left us deeply saddened.

"We know her last months in the De La Mer home were happy and she was well looked after. She used to love sitting watching the birds, especially when they used the bird bath. We are sure she still watches them now she is at rest.”

Ronald King will be sentenced later this year to either time in prison, hospital or a combination of the two.

The decision will be based on whether there is any treatment which could help Ronald King with his paranoia and significant brain injury which a hospital may be able to provide.

Manslaughter by diminished responsibility is only a partial defence and Ronald King can expect to spend several years in some form of custody as he is still criminally responsible for her killing.