A mother suffocated her nine-year-old son to death after finding her husband on a dating website, then took her own life. The bodies of Tasmin Paterson, 31, and her son, Huson, were found in their Bodmin, Cornwall, home in September 2024.

According to a BBC report, on the night of the murder, Tasmin argued with her husband Marcus Hughes and went to bed “distressed” about their relationship. She reportedly slept in Hudson’s room and locked the door.

The next morning, when Hughes tried to wake them up, there was no response. Concerned, he dailed 999 and forced entry into the room. Emergency responders recovered the bodies, and the Cornwall Police crime unit was called to investigate the case.

Paterson’s relationship with Hughes was already crumbling. The two had already been sleeping in separate rooms, and the husband called it an amicable split while still sharing the same home.

 

Hughes noted, “We’d not broken up necessarily, but we were on the verge, I felt. She believed it was to do with her ongoing health issues, but more things were going on than that.” Apart from relationship troubles, Paterson also had health issues. She had injured her head and had mobility issues, which put the family under financial strain.

According to a family member, they couldn’t have imagined her doing something like this, as she was a doting mother.

Senior Coroner Andrew Cox said, “Hughes was Tasmin’s partner at the time of her death, and he accepted that while their relationship had been good and healthy and strong at the outset, more recently it had run into difficulties.”

He said Hughes accepted Tasmin had found him on a dating site, leading to additional arguments. She was heartbroken as the relationship did not work out the way she wanted. The investigation revealed Hudson died from asphyxiation.

There was no sign of any other physical injury or poisoning in him. However, the pathologist could not find any defensive injuries. In the case of Tasmin, she had marks on her forehead, neck, and forearm, which were concluded to be self-inflicted. Her cause of death was compression of the neck.

She had already planned the murder-suicide as she searched how to delete her Facebook account and other content from her device; she also wrote a final note and joint funeral wish. Her choice of song for the funeral was By Your Side by Calvin Harris.

The child’s grandmother and Tasmin’s mother noted she had depression and fatigue as a teenager but loved her son deeply. She described her as a spiritual person.

Netizens could not contain their frustration after reading about the incident. One X user expressed, “Why do these people have to take their children with them?” Another one posted, “Because the murderer doesn’t deserve to be recognized; he deserves to be remembered.”

One more expressed sadness, “Heartbreaking. The isolation and desperation must have been unbearable for her to do something so unthinkable. That poor boy never had a chance.” “Poor baby. He deserved so much better,” posted one more. Another one asked, “Homicidal maniacs strike again! When will they be profiled?”

Disclaimer: Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available.