Age UK adviser, 71, suffers stab wounds and his churchgoer wife, 71, is fighting for life after horrific 'domestic incident' at their £1.2m north London home
by James Gant- Neighbours named Mervyn Kohler as the man who was found at Islington house
- He was found with stab wounds with wife Elizabeth, 71, who was unresponsive
- She was thought to have been stabbed, but police later confirmed she was not
- No arrests were made and no other details of what happened have been released
A pensioner involved in a 'domestic incident' at his north London home that left his elderly wife fighting for her life was an adviser to Age UK, MailOnline can reveal.
Mervyn Kohler, 71, was found by police with stab wounds at his Islington home after the horrific incident at around 8.30pm last night.
His wife Elizabeth, 71, was discovered unresponsive and is in a critical condition in hospital. Mr Kohler's condition is not considered life threatening.
No arrests have been made and no other details of what happened have been released.
Mr Kohler was listed on NHS England's website as an external affairs adviser at Age UK, having been head of public affairs at Help the Aged since 1984.
The website says: 'This, with his (nearly) thirty years of long service, means he plays a part too as the public face of the Charity, at conferences, seminars and in the media.'
He is also on the board for a number of charities and on several public bodies. He currently serves on the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group - now called the Committee on Fuel Poverty - according to the website.
Neighbours said Mr Kohler had been struggling to come to terms with the lockdown and not working since retiring in March.
Sarah Grafton, 58, told MailOnline: 'I saw Mervyn about three days ago going out for a walk. He said that he was becoming very frustrated with the lockdown and not having anything to do.
'He felt very cooped up in the house, because they didn't have a big garden and he said that he was bored senseless.'
Another neighbour said: 'I saw him from time to time and he was always very pleasant.
'Both Mervyn and his wife are lovely. They are incredibly caring people who have a good sense of community.
'But Mervyn did say that he was missing work and was fed up with the lockdown. Despite his age, he was a very active man.
'I think the pressure of being at home all the time just got to them both. It's obvious that something that just snapped.'
Ms Grafton also revealed Elizabeth was an active member of her local church and involved with the Islington Women's Institute.
She added: 'Elizabeth is a delightful person as is Mervyn and what's happened to them is a real tragedy because they are very popular in this area.
'None of this makes any sense. They are both in my prayers and I really hope God helps them to recover and heal from this awful incident.'
Dariusz Zych, who lives next door, confirmed the couple live at the house, saying: 'I would often see her in the garden and I sometimes saw him walking in the street and near the canal.
'He seemed to be in a bad condition, walking slowly and sometimes stopping to catch his breath.
'I didn't know them well, only spoke to them sometimes in the street. I have seen them both wearing t-shirts from a charity for volunteers. I would take the mail and parcels in for them.'
Today the house is still taped off, with a BMW police car sitting in the next door driveway.
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, confirmed Mervyn and Elizabeth Kohler lived at the house and many in the community were worried about what happened.
She said: 'She has a heart of gold and is so well respected in the community. They're so well liked.
'She is very involved in the local church and the WI. They are a lovely couple, I can't believe either would do anything like that.
'Lots of people are very worried about what's happened. I think he used to work for Age UK.'
Another neighbour described the scene on Wednesday evening as emergency services filled the road.
He said: 'First thing I heard was all the sirens. I looked out the window and there was about six or seven police cars, three or four ambulances. There were a lot of paramedics and doctors.
'Lots of people were in the road, the police were trying to disperse them. Then I saw the man and woman coming out on stretchers. She came out first, then he came out about 10 minutes later.
'The road was closed off at both ends, then opened up again at about 10.30pm.'
A woman who works in a studio next to the couple's house said: 'they are a really sweet elderly couple'.
She said: 'I don't really know them other than to say hello. They have never had a domestic incident and I've been there like 12 years.
'I'm so surprised because honestly never a raised voice, never, nothing, nothing, and we would hear everything, trust me. There's no sound proofing where we are.'
The woman's offices are on the second floor of the building and looks over the couple's garden.
'It's quite intimate, but I don't really know them. They just seemed like a really nice couple, really nice. Seriously the quietest people you could image.
'No issues at all, so that's just a complete surprise, can't be them sort of thing. Proper shocker. They're not even moody people, you know. Not even an edge to them.'
A spokesman for Age UK, said: 'Mervyn Kohler was a valued colleague at Age UK and before that at Help the Aged, for many years, until we said good bye to him in March on his retirement.
'We are deeply distressed by the news reported today and our thoughts are with him and his family at this sad time.'
Police said they were called to the property at 8.24pm yesterday and took a man and a woman to hospital.
The force said a man had suffered stab injuries but they were not believed to be life-threatening.
It added: 'The woman was unresponsive. She was initially thought to have been stabbed, but it is now confirmed she had not been.
Her condition is being treated as life-threatening. There have been no arrests. At this very early stage, the matter is being treated as a domestic incident with no other persons believed involved.
'Extensive inquiries into the circumstances continue. A crime scene and road closures are in place.'