Police Scotland
Martyn Smith, 73 and John Whyte,75, both died in October 2018.
The deaths of two men in Oban could not have been prevented by any precautions, a fatal accident inquiry has found.
Oskars Rancevs, 33, was found not guilty on mental health grounds of murdering Martyn Smith, 73, and killing 75-year-old John Whyte in October 2018. Rancevs was sent to the State Hospital at Carstairs after the not guilty verdict in 2019.
The FAI was established to determine whether the deaths could have been avoided and if there were defects within the system which contributed to the killings.
However Sheriff Sheena M Fraser ruled she was unable to “identify any precautions that might realistically have resulted in Mr Whyte or Mr Smith’s deaths being avoided”.
In the lead-up to the killings, a number of people expressed concern about Rancevs after he behaved erratically, to the extent that his step-father contacted local mental health services and the police.
At 09:30 on 1 October 2018, Rancevs approached Mr Smith as he stood outside the block of flats talking to Mr Whyte.
He threw rubbish at Mr Smith, before pushing him to the ground, where he kicked and jumped on him – including from the top of a car. Mr Smith later died from blunt force trauma.
Mr Whyte called 999 from his flat to report the attack after being struck by Rancevs too, but suffered a fatal heart attack while making the call.
Police Scotland
Concerns had been raised about Oskars Rancevs before the killings
The Crown asked the FAI to rule that a reasonable precaution would have been to ensure Rancevs continued to take medication after being discharged from Lochgilphead hospital in October 2017.
However Sheriff Fraser wrote that she was unable to do this, as there had been little evidence showing the therapeutic effect of the medications he was taking.
She added that Rancevs had previously not taken medication for lengthy spells without ever displaying behaviour like that of October 2018.
Representatives for Rancevs argued that better care would have stopped him attacking and killing Mr Smith.
They stated that without his medication, it was question of “when not if” his mental health would decline and he would enter a manic episode.
They also added that previous instances of violent behaviour when not medicated – which he previously displayed in 2017 – should have meant he was seen immediately when concerns over his behaviour were raised on 28 September.
A meeting was arranged for 2 October instead – the day after Mr Smith and Mr Whyte died.
Sheriff Fraser said she disagreed with this complaint, saying the appointment was within a reasonable timescale and the previous violence was not nearly on the same level as the 2018 incident.
Defects in record-keeping
Another issue raised was regarding some defects in record keeping and sharing of information with the health board, and a lack of any formal risk assessment being taken before Rancevs was released.
The sheriff found that while there were defects with keeping records, there was nothing to suggest this would have made a difference to what happened.
She added she was satisfied that hospital staff were consistently checking for risk whenever they interacted with patients.
The FAI also heard that police officers had not been instructed to check on Mr Whyte, despite the 75-year-old seeming to take unwell when on the phone to 999.
It was during this time that he suffered a heart attack and died. However the FAI ruled that even if they had checked on Mr Whyte, it would have been too late to save his life.
Sheriff Fraser said she sent her sympathies to the families of the two men.