Coroner Katharine Greig has released details of a murder-suicide involving a reclusive mother and son in Christchurch

Forty-six year-old Nick McIlraith killed his mother, 79-year-old Beverley McIlraith in her bed at their Riccarton home in April 2022 - before taking his own life.

They were found by Police after family members had been unable to reach them for more than a month.

Greig says it came after years of Nick McIlraith isolating his mother, who had dementia, diabetes and an alcohol addiction.

He had also become possessive and controlling of her.

Greig says no one had identified McIlraith posed a risk to his mother, or that he may have been at the end of his tether.