A 29-year-old single mother who was released from mental health treatment at the start of lockdown has been charged with murder after an elderly church warden was stabbed to death outside a Co-op in south Wales.
Zara Anne Radcliffe, 29, has been charged with the murder of 88-year-old church warden John Rees and the attempted murder of three other people, South Wales Police said yesterday.
Rees was queuing up at a convenience store in Pen-y-Graig, south Wales shopping for him and his elderly wife, when Radcliffe allegedly launched a frenzied attack.
NHS nurse Lisa Way, 53, pensioner Andrew Price, 68, and a third person were treated for knife wounds after the incident at 1.45pm on Tuesday.
Radcliffe’s cousin Donna Evans, 33, was in tears when she visited the scene of the bloody attack yesterday and said she couldn’t believe it was Zara.
‘But I knew she has some mental health problems and said she was hearing voices,’ Evans said.
‘I only saw her the day before and she was saying the police weren’t taking her seriously.
‘I was asking her what it was all about but she wasn’t making much sense.’
Ms Evans said Radcliffe, from Porth, Rhondda, is a ‘very pretty and kind’ single mum who dotes on her young son.
She said Radcliffe had been a patient at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital for five months but came out six weeks ago at the start of the lockdown.
Ms Evans added: ‘She slept on my settee for a couple of nights.
‘She was doing well when she came out of hospital but she started putting strange stuff on Facebook and I remember thinking she’s not well again.
‘It’s not her to do some thing like this, I can’t understand it.’
A relative said in the hours before the stabbings Radcliffe had called police to ask about a complaint she had made over an alleged assault.
Police examining CCTV footage from the Co-op said the incident was ‘extremely shocking and distressing’ for the local community.
Radcliffe is being held 18 miles away at Merthyr Tydfil police station where she has been assessed by a mental health expert.
South Wales Police have referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct which investigate the ‘most serious and sensitive’ incidents and allegations involving the police
Meanwhile the store is still closed and cordoned off by officers from the South Wales Police Major Crime Investigations Team.
Divisional Commander, Chief Superintendent Dorian Lloyd, said: ‘Yesterday’s horrific incident in Penygraig was extremely distressing and shocking for the local community.
‘I would like to pay tribute to the members of the public and police officers for their efforts at the scene, rendering first aid to those involved in this incident.
‘Penygraig is a small close-knit community which has been put into the national spotlight in such tragic circumstances.
‘I would like to reassure the local community that the police response to the incident was extremely swift and officers were at the scene within minutes.
‘We will continue to maintain a visible presence to support those in the area as they try and come to terms with what has happened.
‘My thoughts and condolences remain with the victim’s family and all those affected by this incident at a very sad time.’
A Co-op have spokesman said: ‘We are shocked by the tragic incident which took place in our Penygraig store.
‘We would like to thank the emergency services for their response, and we are working to support our colleagues and customers. Our thoughts are with those affected at this difficult time.’
It was revealed yesterday that the horrific incident happened while Rees’s dementia-suffering wife Eunice, 87, was waiting in their car nearby.
Pictured: Zara Radcliffe, 29, who has been seized by South Wales Police after an elderly man was stabbed in the throat at a Co-op
Nurse Lisa Way, 53, was stabbed as she was shopping in the village after completing her shift at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in nearby Llantrisant
Flowers were left at the scene yesterday, pictured, as tributes continued to flood in for Mr Rees
She is due to appear at Cardiff Magistrate’s Court later today.
A South Wales Police spokesman said: ‘We have charged a 29-year-old woman from Porth with the murder of John Rees from Trealaw and the attempted murder of three others following an incident in Penygraig in the Rhondda yesterday.
‘Zara Anne Radcliffe will appear before Cardiff Magistrates Court.’
Mr Rees’s family said in a tribute yesterday: ‘John was the very definition of a good man, extremely respected and liked in the community.
‘He was proud of his family, proud to be a Welshman and devoted to All Saints Church. We will all miss him terribly.’
Eunice Reese, 87, who is said to suffer from dementia, was waiting in the car as husband John Rees, 88, was stabbed to death
Father-of-two Mr Rees rang the bells every Thursday night at his local church in the village of Trealaw, Rhondda, in tribute to NHS workers on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic.
Friends are arranging for the bells at the village’s All Saint’s Church to be rung in Mr Rees’s honour.
The accused lives with her mother and young son in Porth, Rhondda.
Pictured: Zara Radcliffe, who is appearing in front of magistrates in Cardiff tomorrow, for the murder of church warden John Rees, 88 and the attempted murder of three others
One note, pictured, read: ‘RIP. Heartbreaking losing your life in such a horrific way. Can’t stop thinking of your poor wife. Thoughts are with you and your family.’
Police officers yesterday outside the Co-op in the village of Pen-y-Graig in Rhondda, South Wales
A friend said: ‘It is so tragic. John was so dedicated to Eunice and they were always together.
‘She has no idea what has happened. Eunice has dementia and she can’t take it in. She keeps on saying: ‘Where’s John?’
Father-of-two Mr Rees – described as a pillar of the community – took his wife to the Co-op store in Pen-y-Graig, Rhondda, from their home a mile away in Tonypandy.
But he never returned. Police found her 15 minutes later still in the car waiting for her husband.
Police at the scene of the stabbing in the village of Pen Y Graig in South Wales today
Police forensics officers investigate following the stabbing in South Wales this afternoon
The family friend said: ‘He was known to everyone around here as Uncle John – he was that sort of man. He was very smart and always wore a shirt even though he was long retired.
‘He was a church warden and never had a bad word to say about anyone. He was the perfect gentleman.’
Flowers were left at the scene today as tributes continued to flood in for Mr Rees, who rang the bells at All Saints Church in the village of Trealaw at 8pm every Thursday for frontline NHS workers in the Covid-19 crisis.
However, villagers will ring the bells in his memory tomorrow night, locals said.
Vicar Rev Peter Gale described him as ‘one of the best members of the congregation.’
A note left with flowers left at the scene of the horrific attack said: ‘Our hearts go out to John and his beloved wife Unis (sic). We are all heartbroken.
‘He was such a lovely gentleman, kind and caring.’
South Wales Police said a woman was arrested at the scene following this afternoon’s stabbing
Forensic officers look into what happened after a man died in the stabbing incident today
Emergency services outside the Co-Op this afternoon following the horrific stabbing incident
Another read: ‘RIP. Heartbreaking losing your life in such a horrific way. Can’t stop thinking of your poor wife. Thoughts are with you and your family.’
Neighbour Tracey Goodridge, 60, said: ‘It’s so sad and unbelievable.
‘John was a carer for his wife and would help anybody, he was such a gentleman.
‘He rang the church bells at the end of the street and he couldn’t wait for the church services to start up again.’
Fruit seller George Price, 69, said how Mr Rees called at the stall on his regular daily walk to All Saints.
He said: ‘You wouldn’t wish for a nicer man.’He would go to the chapel every day.
‘I met him when I was 12. He was a lovely man. It’s a sin that this has happened to him.
‘He would pass this stall and he would go to the shop for his newspaper. Everybody knew him. I have never known a nicer chap.’