BLACKPOOL MAN KILLED FAMILY OVER SMOKING OBSESSION, DETAINED UNDER MENTAL HEALTH ACT
A man who murdered his wife and two sons after an argument about her smoking has been detained indefinitely under the mental health act.John Jarvis stabbed his wife, Patricia, and her sons Stuart, eight, and John, 11, at their home in the Winslow Hotel, Blackpool, in March 2003.
The couple's 13-year-old daughter was present but was not injured.
Jarvis admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was given an indefinite detention order.
The court heard that Jarvis had become obsessed with his wife's smoking habit, and shortly before the killings, he said he was 'going to fix' her smoking.
He stabbed Patricia and then his sons Stuart and John, citing that he did so to prevent nightmares and because he wanted to join his mother.
The judge described the crimes as 'truly dreadful, vicious and brutal,' and noted that Jarvis had an undetected mental illness from a car accident at age 19.
The police described him as a 'cold and calculating individual.'
