The judge also said this. From the COA -
369. In addition, there was a body of evidence from non-expert witnesses who had spoken to or been in contact with Sheila Caffell in the days immediately preceding these killings.
The trial judge devoted some eight pages of his summing up to all this evidence, and summarised its effect in the following way:
"Most of them saw signs of Sheila's illness which agreed entirely with Dr Ferguson's evidence about it. None of them, at any stage, knew of any physical violence by Sheila, although on occasions when she was acutely ill - as when Freddie saw her just before she went into hospital in March - they were frightened that she might become violent.
All of them agree that she was loving - very loving - and caring for her twin sons.
There was evidence that she sometimes had a difficult relationship with her mother.
Everyone seems to agree that she was very attached to her father, and that he was the person who had a remarkably calming effect upon her. Dr Ferguson said that in his view she treated him as her mentor - a source of help and someone who could calm her when she was in trouble.
There is no evidence from anyone of her ever expressing any violence towards her parents."