Heartbreaking tributes to Emma Pattison’s daughter Lettie, 7, as cops probe ‘double murder suicide’
A SEVEN-year-old girl found dead on school grounds with her parents was “perfect in every way”, a woman who looked after her has said.
The bodies of little Lettie Pattison, her headteacher mum Emma and accountant dad George were discovered at Epsom College, Surrey, at around 1am on Sunday.
Police said they are not looking for anybody else in connection with the “isolated” incident, but have given no further details about the deaths.
Gunshots were reportedly heard the same night, and officers are understood to be treating it as a double murder and suicide.
Detectives suspect George, 39, killed Emma, 45, and Lettie before taking his own life.
The “unimaginable” tragedy has shaken the school community and devastated those that knew the “lovely” family.
Chloe Rathbone, 27, a nursery worker who previously looked after Lettie, told The Times: “I am utterly heartbroken over this news.
“They were such a lovely family and Lettie was perfect in every way.”
John Wildgoose, a photographer who took the family’s portrait last month for the school’s announcement of Emma’s headship, described the youngster as “an absolute angel”.
He added: “It was amazing how she was for the camera, it’s heartbreaking.
“To me there was an obvious bond within the family, they seemed very together and excited about their future.”
Emma became the first female head of £42,000-a-year Epsom College in September 2022 after six years at Croydon High School in South London.
She lived on site with her daughter, Labrador puppy Bella and chartered accountant husband George, who ran a management consultancy firm called Tanglewood 2016, according to Companies House.
Their family home is understood to be surrounded by other properties occupied by teachers and school workers and adjacent to the school’s rifle range.
The indoor shooting centre appeared to be part of the police cordon yesterday, though cops confirmed it was not part of the incident scene.
Despite moving to Epsom from their £1.5million property in Caterham last year, the Pattisons reportedly only recently finished transporting the last of their belongings.
Removal vans were spotted outside the four-bedroom detached home, where they had lived since 2014, in the last few weeks.
Another old neighbour told The Telegraph they seemed like a “normal, happy family”.
They added: “I used to see Emma going running. I didn’t see George so much, he was quite quiet and kept himself to himself, but their daughter was so happy.
“You used to hear her playing in the garden, she was always asking them questions and just seemed like a happy, inquisitive little girl.”
‘LOVELY LITTLE GIRL’
Another described Lettie as a “lovely, well brought up” girl who always wanted to play with her dog.
And a third said the Pattisons appeared “quite successful” as they owned a Range Rover and a BMW 8 Series.
Before Christmas, Emma seemed enthusiastic about her future at the elite school, which counts presenter Jeremy Vine and ex-MI6 spy chief Sir John Scarlett as ex-pupils.
On the college podcast, she excitedly told teenagers how much she had loved her first few weeks at the helm and that she was looking forward to the coming months and years.
The only suggestion of any difficulty was that the move had put pressure on her family and she found it tricky to find time for herself.
Emma said at the beginning of December: “I am absolutely loving my time here so far.
“It has been very, very busy, but absolutely wonderful.
“There is so much to look ahead to and be excited about.”
But she later added that the transition had been a “really big change” for her family and hinted that between having breakfasts with students, attending sports matches on Saturdays and meeting as many mums and dads as possible, there was little time to pursue hobbies.
She did, however, go on to say that she enjoyed travelling, reading, playing the piano and singing – as well as going for jogs.
A former neighbour told The Times they often heard piano music coming from the Caterham house and saw Emma going out for regular runs.
They added: “They had all the appearances of being totally happy and successful.”
Epsom College scooped the top prize at the Independent Schools of the Year Awards 2022.
It was also the winner of the Student Wellbeing Award thanks to its approach to mental health.
