Steve and wife Jackie Coops (Picture: SWNS)

A father killed himself after he tried to stab his five-year-old daughter to death for being the ‘unlucky’ 13th grandchild, an inquest heard.

Stephen Coops, 40, took his own life after he attacked Celeste with two kitchen knives in a bid to murder her, Truro coroner was told.

A neighbour saw his wife Jacqueline leave the scene carrying the child covered in blood, and gave her sanctuary until emergency services arrived.

Stephen was found dead at home in Par with multiple wounds in May last year after stabbing himself in the chest and arms, the court in Cornwall heard.


Toddler ‘stamped to death by parent’ was so badly injured she ‘looked like a car crash victim’Stephen suffered from schizophrenia and had been previously sectioned in 2011 for trying to kill his family in a car, the inquest was told.



The court heard he became obsessed with conspiracy theories, reading a lot on the internet particularly about the 9/11 attacks.

The Coops family home in Lanteglos Cornwall (Picture: SWNS)

He believed he was God and had to ‘save the world’ and the rest of his family by killing himself and his daughter because she was the 13th grandchild, an inquest heard.

Speaking after the hearing in Truro, Cornwall, wife said she didn’t blame her husband for what happened because he had been let down by mental health agencies.

Woman who ‘stabbed husband to death when he was made redundant’ says she was a ‘loving wife’Jacqueline, 40, from Fowey, said Stephen spoke to her as he was dying to say ‘I am sorry. I had to do it to save ourselves.’

Giving evidence she said her husband had been acting strangely in the days leading up to his death.

‘Every day he would come out with something stranger. A couple of weeks before he said he was depressed and worried about money,’ she said.

‘The night before he died he was staring out the window and then he came to sit next to me. ‘He said he had seen a blue light outside and said it was probably a laser.

‘I laughed and said it was probably a car headlight. The next morning he seemed fine.’

Police tape outside the family home (Picture: SWNS)

DC Matt Critchley, from Liskeard CID, was first at the scene.

He told the hearing: ‘We got a call to say a man had stabbed himself and a five year old girl.

‘I immediately jumped in a marked car with blue lights.’

Boy, eight, forced to swallow a 5p coin in ‘frightening’ random attackWhen he arrived, the toddler was no longer in danger but ‘Stephen was in a bad way. There was a lot of blood and he did not say a word.”

Celeste was taken to hospital with serious injuries but two weeks after the attack, she had made a full recovery, polcie said.

The inquest heard Stephen had previously crashed his car because he believed a sinister man was waiting at home, the inquest heard. He admitted dangerous driving and was sectioned under the mental health act.

Stephen Coops was found dead at his home with multiple wounds (Picture: SWNS)

Consultant psychologist Dr Richard Laugharne said he last saw Stephen in February 2015.

‘The last time I saw him I felt very positive about how things were going,’ he said. ‘I found him a likeable man, who cared for his wife and family and was totally shocked when it happened.’



Recording a verdict of suicide, coroner Barry van de Berg said: ‘There is no doubt he ended his life by his own hands. What he did was suicide.’

Speaking to the family, he said: “You have lost someone who was obviously a very decent bloke.

Man pardoned for murdering his own mother shoots his two sisters in suspected honour killings’It is a tragedy that illness can make someone do something they wouldn’t dream of. He was an ill person, not a bad person.’

Speaking after the inquest, Jacqueline paid tribute to her husband and said she felt he had been let down by the mental health services.

She said: ‘The first time around we had to wait for something drastic to happen.

‘The after-care was poor. The second time the flags were still there but nothing was done and now it is too late.

‘Lessons have been learnt but how many times do you have to hear this. Because of the poor care of the professionals our family have to live with the consequences of this tragic event.

‘Stephen was a great husband and a loving father.’

For emotional support contact Samaritans on 08457 909090.