"You never know, this might be my last gin."
These were the words of Tricia Livesey as she ordered her final drink at the Swan Inn on Friday, November 19, 2021. They were to become chillingly prophetic.
Tricia had spent the evening at the pub with her husband Anthony Tipping, her sister Catherine Riding and Catherine's husband Martin. It was a regular arrangement for the two couples, who met weekly for a catch-up over drinks in Higher Walton, LancsLive reports.
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Tricia told her sister she did not want to go home as she prepared to leave the pub. Her reluctance to return to the family property stemmed from the recent behaviour of her and Anthony's only son, Lee, which she had filled Catherine in on.
Catherine offered her sister a bed for the night, telling her she did not have to go home but Tricia turned her down and returned home with Anthony. She texted Catherine to let her know they had arrived, adding that Lee was being "a f*****g s**t."
A few minutes later she sent another message - "Please God, will someone help us?"
It was the last message Tricia ever sent.
The autumn evening had started like any other, with house-proud Tricia tidying up downstairs before leaving for the short walk to the pub with Anthony. Her husband, affectionately known as 'Tip', had joked with their son Lee about a taxi driver they saw urinating in a garden, before the couple headed out.
But at the pub, Tip's mood changed when he received a phone call from Lee, telling him he had broken their bedroom door. Martin said: "Tip seemed agitated." Parenting was not an easy task for Tip, 60, and Tricia, 57.
When Lee was a toddler, Tricia, a childminder, was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors warned her not to have any more children, as the strain on her body would risk the cancer returning.
Tip's brother Stuart said: "Tip and Tricia were so proud of their son, Lee, they protected him throughout his life. Lee really was the centre of their world, he could do no wrong. When Lee was 22 he went to Burnley to live at an Assisted Living Accommodation, even then his parents didn't get their lives back. They worried about him every day. They were so concerned for Lee that they moved him back to their home against the advice of professionals. They were just trying to be the best parents they could.
"We always had a fear that Lee would take over and control Tip and Tricia's lives as they got older, but we never could have imagined he would go to the lengths he has done and take the lives of the two people who loved him unconditionally. "
As a child, Lee was a loner and did not play out with the other children in the village - but as he entered his late teenage years, he developed a mental health condition. When Lee was aged 19 and 22, he spent time as an inpatient on a psychiatric unit before being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He returned to the family home in Cann Bridge Street, under the care of the community mental health team and his loving parents.
For a number of years, Lee's condition was stable, with professional support and a regular medication regime, but in March 2020, he stopped taking his medication, telling his uncle "it's time for the new Lee." Unbeknown to his parents, Lee started flushing the antipsychotic drugs down the toilet.
Medical records showed he took no medication in August, September and November 2021.
A former support worker, who saw Lee in a pub in Preston, said he looked well and told her he had changed his medication. He passed his driving test, giving him freedom to go out driving in the VW Polo he cherished. He enrolled on a course to become a door supervisor, hoping to secure work at bars and festivals and made plans to attend a music college in Manchester to pursue his dream of becoming a DJ.
By November 2021, Lee's mental health was deteriorating. His course leader said he looked drained and on November 19, he told him to rest over the weekend to come back fresh on Monday. In court, the defendant said he had not been sleeping and knew he was becoming unwell.
When Tip and Tricia returned from the pub, shortly after 11pm, their son launched a savage attack. He picked up a knife from the landing and hacked at his parents in a merciless frenzy.
He attacked Anthony first but when Tricia tried to intervene, Lee turned the knife on her. He inflicted more than 300 separate injuries upon his parents, and used an aerosol to launch a flamethrower at his dad.
The following day, when Tricia did not turn up for her regular Saturday lunch with her mum Cecilia and her sisters, the family raised the alarm. Police went to the house to find the lifeless bodies of Tip and Tricia upstairs - but Lee was nowhere to be seen.
After stabbing his parents to death, Tipping washed the knife and placed it into his father's hand to make it look like he was the aggressor. He drove to Liverpool Airport in a bid to leave the country, but realising he did not have his Covid pass, he returned home and stepped over his mother's body to collect his laptop, before setting off again to Manchester Airport.
When he saw armed police at the airport, he took a taxi to Manchester City Centre but was arrested as he tried to book into a Premier Inn. Lee told armed officers his father had attacked him so he took the knife from him and stabbed him to death.
It was the beginning of a web of lies told by the paranoid killer, as he tried to paint himself as the victim. Throughout the trial at Preston Crown Court, Lee Tipping constructed a picture of self-pity.
He claimed his father had bullied him all his life and made cruel taunts about his mental health. Ironically, he described Tip as 'a psycho'. He also claimed Tricia neglected him and complained they took board money from him towards his keep.
Without a hint of remorse, he told the jury he "hacked and hacked" at his parents with the knife. When the frenzy was over, he said he sat at the top of the stairs, thinking "why has this happened to me?"
When the jury foreman delivered guilty verdicts to two counts of murder, he turned to members of the family, sitting quietly in the public gallery, and shouted: "You have ruined my life!"
Two psychiatrists, Drs Barlow and Baker, who examined Tipping at Guild Lodge, agreed he was suffering an enduring psychotic illness, with entrenched patterns of thinking, cognitive deficits and difficulties with personal relationships. They said the paranoid schizophrenia did not substantially impair his ability to understand his actions but may have impaired his decision making.
Handing down a sentence of life, with a minimum term of 27 years, the Rt Hon Mr Justice Goose said: "Before you stopped taking your medication your symptoms were ameliorated; afterwards they began to return, and you realised that. In your evidence you described that you were becoming more ill, yet you didn’t seek help or take the medication that you still possessed.
"I am satisfied that there is a real connection between your increasing mental illness, in the months leading up to these murders, and what you did. Your culpability for these offences was significantly reduced by your mental disorder.
"It must be recognised, however, that you had some insight into what was happening to you. You were aware that you were becoming more ill and that it was caused by your decision to stop taking your medication. Although I accept that you did not know that it would lead you to commit murder."
The judge said he had no doubt that Tricia and Tip offered the best of care to their son. "I have listened to the evidence about how they looked after you, and it is clear to me that they had only your interests at heart", he said.
"I reject as untrue that your father was a bully and that he threatened you with violence before you killed him. Also, I reject your evidence that you failed to receive the fullest loving care from both of your parents. I have no doubt that as your symptoms became worse, it created upset in the family home, but it was you who had stopped taking your medication."
In a moving victim impact statement on behalf of the family, Stuart Tipping said: "One of the hardest parts of court has been listening to the lies that Lee has come out with about my brother and Tricia. Tip was not a bully, he loved his son and put him on a pedestal all his life, he would not have someone say a bad word about Lee.
"My brother was the core of our family, our go-to person. Ever y one went to him for advice, or help. He did everything for our families and would drop what he was doing to help, whether you were a family member, friend, ne i ghbour or even Lee.
"Likewise, the portrait that Lee has painted of his mother, Tricia, could not be further from the truth. Lee would have strangers believing that his mother neglected him; Tricia loved Lee, he was her baby, her world.
"Tricia had the patience of a saint, she put up with behaviour from Lee that no other mother would do; both Tip and Tricia had high hopes for their only son. We know that Tricia was always scared that Lee would commit suicide, this thought upset her to her core. Tricia was a fun, kind and generous person. She loved going out, she loved dancing and she loved her family.
"Tricia and Tip should have been able to retire and be happy, enjoy their house, their family and friends, they should have been able to enjoy their lives together. But due to the actions of Lee, they are not here, their happy retirement has been taken from them.
"The grief of dealing with our loss is great, but to hear the brutality and evilness of Lee's actions is unimaginable. In court we have sat through hearing the harsh lies he has told about my brother and sister in-law, and our family and friends. Lee has no remorse for his actions for what he has done.
"Through the story he has concocted for court, he has shown us that he holds a hatred and vengeful view of our family that fills us with fear not only for ourselves but the next generations. Lee hasn't only taken away two beautiful people but has shown to threaten others.
"We worry for the future of our children and grandchildren, if he was to ever be free as we know he wouldn't stop to seek them out, threaten them or even harm them.
"After the tragic and utterly devastating killing of my brother and sister-in-law by their son, Lee Tipping, myself and our families have really struggled to come to terms with this heart breaking news. It's hard to believe that your own flesh and blood could do such an insidious act, it's difficult to put in to words how w e feel about Lee.
"Lee is our nephew, We hate him for what he has done and we cannot get past the fact he has killed them and we will never forgive him for taking them from us.
"Every single day I walk past Tip and Tricia's home when walking my dogs. It serves as a lasting reminder that I have lost two loved ones. My sister Trish still visits frequently to keep the garden tidy. Even though they have gone, we want to keep their home up to their standards as Tip and Tricia poured so much love into it."
Lee Tipping is now beginning a life sentence and must serve a minimum term of 27 years before he is eligible to apply for parole. However he will not be released unless the Parole Board is satisfied he no longer poses a risk, and will be on licence for the rest of his life.
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