A review carried out following the death of much-loved mum and grandma murdered by her husband identified 'issues around understanding coercive and controlling behaviour', an inquest hearing has been told.
A coroner is now to decide if a full inquest needs to be held into the death of Yvonne McCann from Stockport.
Yvonne, 46, was strangled to death by her estranged husband Thomas McCann, who then dismembered her and dumped her body parts in bin bags at a recycling centre and Reddish Vale Country Park - a beauty spot close to their home in Brinnington - in May 2020.
READ MORE: 'He has taken the world from me': The son who wishes he could ask his dad why he killed his mum
It followed a row about a bag of frozen chips left out of the freezer, Manchester Crown Court heard during Thomas McCann's sentencing. He pleaded guilty to murder and was handed a life term with a minimum of 12 years by a judge in March last year.
Today (Wednesday) a pre-inquest review was held at South Manchester Coroners' Court in Stockport. Senior coroner Alison Mutch heard submissions on whether a full inquest into Yvonne's death was required.
An inquest had been initially opened following her death but was halted, as is usual practice, due to the criminal proceedings.
Ms Mutch said that as well as the police investigation, a domestic homicide review was carried out by the local authority, Stockport Council, following her death. A draft version had now been sent to the Home Office for approval, the hearing was told.
It had "identified some issues around understanding coercive and controlling behaviour', Ms Mutch said. However she said she had been informed by Stockport Council that "work has been done with agencies over the last few years to further deal with some of these issues and recognise coercive and controlling behaviour in some of its more subtle forms.'
It was the council's view that they 'don't feel an inquest would tease out any issues that haven't been already teased out by the domestic homicide review' and that the police agreed, she said.
"Very often if there has been a criminal trial there's no need to hold an inquest," she said, however she added the purpose of the hearing was to "make sure" that was the case with Yvonne.
"The submissions I am hearing from both the police, the local authority and other agencies is that they don't think there are any issues left to be explored in inquest proceedings and that I don't need to resume the inquest," she said.
Though she added: "I am not going to make a decision today."
Yvonne's daughter Rachel Lawson told Ms Mutch an inquest was "something we would like to avoid if we could" and that as a family they wanted to "get to the end and to move on", adding it would likely just cause "more heartache."
Ms Mutch told her: "I am just very sorry things happened in the way and the trauma that it's brought on you as a family. It's very, very difficult. Would you pass on my condolences to the rest of the family as I want them to know how very sorry I am."
Last month, Yvonne and Thomas McCann's son Callum Lawson told the Manchester Evening News that his parents would often argue, but there were no incidents of domestic violence prior to her death. “He used to run off with other women, he would come back and they would argue and would push each other around. Apart from that, nothing else happened,” he said.
He said he wished he could ask his dad why he killed his mum. “He’s the only person I can speak to about it, but I can’t speak to him because he’s done it,” he said.
"She was my best friend, she was always there when I needed her. She was happy and kind and always there for anybody," he continued.
“Now she’s gone I feel like my soul has been dragged out of my stomach. I felt like I was in a dream." Adding: "He has taken the world from me.”
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