Fatal attack on Moray pensioner Frank Kinnis result of 'unpredictable circumstances'
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An inquiry into a pensioner's death at the hands of a stranger has concluded no reasonable steps by Moray's medical professionals would have prevented the fatal assault.
However, the family of Frank Kinnis have questioned this opinion.
In addition, the family have expressed their hope that the system for dealing with people with mental health issues becomes more pro-active in future.
Mr Kinnis was walking his dog in Birkenhill Woods near Elgin, on October 21, 2019, when he was attacked by David Johnstone.
The 83-year-old suffered injuries to his head and face and died in hospital later the same day.
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov oversaw a fatal accident inquiry at Elgin Sheriff Court over the course of two days in January.
This looked at how Moray's psychiatry service had dealt with Johnstone in the build-up to the attack.
The inquiry heard that family members of Johnstone, who was aged 36 at the time, had expressed concerns on more than one occasion about his erratic behaviour.
In her findings published today, Sheriff Pasportnikov warned against a "one size fits-all" approach to the treatment of people with mental health issues.
She wrote: "The untimely death of Frank Kinnis was a horribly tragic event arising from a most unfortunate combination of unpredictable circumstances.
"David Johnstone had regularly had changes in his mental health condition and at no time had he been deemed to have been a danger to himself or others.
"I do not consider, therefore, that the lack of further effort to engage with David Johnstone between July and October 2019 was in any way inappropriate."
Sheriff Pasportnikov continued: "On the basis that I am satisfied that there were no grounds to detain David Johnstone in hospital on 25 June 2019.
"It would be speculative and therefore inappropriate to try and consider what would have happened if he had attended for an appointment with Dr Davidson between 1 July and 21 October 2021.
"There are too many 'unknowns'.
"There was no formal diagnosis in respect of David Johnstone’s condition. His symptoms did not necessarily mean he was schizophrenic. Potentially, he could have been suffering from stress-induced psychosis, chronic cannabis use or an acute physical illness.
"If a blanket approach to the treatment of those suffering from mental health issues were to be taken, there would be the fear of going back to the days of large psychiatric institutions.
Sheriff Pasportnikov concluded: "The families of both Frank Yule Kinnis and David Johnstone attended proceedings.
"I commend them on their dignity throughout proceedings and appreciate that this must have been difficult for them at times."
Following the release of the report's findings today, the family of Frank Kinnis also released a statement.
It said: "After Frank was tragically taken from us on October 21, 2019, we hoped that the decision for a fatal accident inquiry to be held would help us come to some understanding of how this event happened.
"Nothing prepares you for seeing the face of a loved one across the news. It does not get less jarring or less upsetting. It never stops feeling unreal.
"Privately dealing with the trauma and the horror of his death and the loss to our family has made the last three years incredibly hard.
"We are grateful to all those who have helped us navigate it all, including the family liaison team and the procurator fiscal team. We also thank the media outlets which covered this tragedy thoughtfully and respected our family’s privacy when asked.
"While we are grateful to those who have been involved we want to express our disappointment at the outcome of the inquiry.
"Although we have no dispute with the stated findings, we believe that it overlooked areas which to us seemed of greater concern.
"It has also not given us the sense of closure we had hoped for.
"We do not understand how someone going through mental health issues can be expected by our healthcare system to take proactive steps to seeking help when their condition could be a severe as David Johnstone’s was.
"We do not understand how the families and loved ones who may raise concerns cannot be kept informed of what steps have been taken to support their care, particularly if they have been unsuccessful and no further action would be taken unless further instances of ill health or deterioration are reported.
"We do not understand how a healthcare system can sit on a list of potentially highly vulnerable people who have not been able to engage seemly indefinitely, without review or scrutiny or due process to revisit or return.
"In October 2019 this tragedy changed the lives of our family, the Johnstone family and the wider community.
"As a family we feel that everyone involved in this tragic incident has been let down by our healthcare system, and that it was not proactive enough in trying to reach David Johnstone to treat the illness that he was suffering from.
"It was easier to simply leave his case in limbo and leave him to manage his illness alone. The consequences of this were tragic.
"It is our position that the findings of this report have not adequately addressed what we believe are the core underlying issue within the system.
"Despite our disappointment, we can only hope that healthcare professionals are paying attention and will actively take the necessary steps to ensure that similar tragedies can be prevented in the future."
Johnstone was originally charged with murdering Mr Kinnis.
He was also charged with the attempted murder of two further strangers, aged in their 70s, later that same day.
However Johnstone was acquitted at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2020 after the Crown accepted his not guilty plea on the grounds that he had a mental disorder at the time.
Instead he was ordered to be detained in a psychiatric hospital for an unlimited period.
