A police force has issued an apology to the family of a woman found dead at a convicted sex offender’s residence following a watchdog’s findings of failings in their initial investigation.
Kelly Faiers, 61, died at the address of Richard Scatchard, 70, in Minehead, Somerset, on October 15, 2023.
Officers attended the property and engaged with Scatchard, who possessed a history of sexual offence convictions in which he administered drugs to his victims.
An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) inquiry revealed that despite officers’ concerns over Scatchard’s conduct and their consideration of an arrest, they were ultimately advised against it by CID.
The following day, a decision was made to treat Ms Faiers’ death as murder, prompting officers to revisit the address, only to find Scatchard had absconded.
His body was later found in a caravan near Cleeve Hill in Watchet on April 4 2024.
Ms Faiers’ family made a series of complaints about Avon and Somerset Police’s conduct following her death.
On Tuesday, the IOPC said it had found the service provided by the force to be “unacceptable” in relation to three out of the seven complaints.
The actions and decisions of three officers fell below expectations but there was no evidence to indicate they had breached police standards of professional behaviour, it added.
In response, a spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police apologised to Ms Faiers’ family and said it had taken their concerns seriously.
“We would like to apologise to Kelly Faiers’ family for the impact of several of the decisions made by Avon and Somerset Police during the course of our inquiries into her death,” he said.
“Ms Faiers’ death in Minehead on October 15, 2023 was initially considered to be non-suspicious.
“An operational decision was made the following day to then treat Ms Faiers’ death at Richard Scatchard’s home as suspicious and that it should be investigated as a murder inquiry.
“This update was not relayed to the family for a further 48 hours, in part due to being unable to locate trained family liaison officers to meet Ms Faiers’ family and deliver the update in-person.
“The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) determined that the service level was unacceptable because of that delay, and an alternative option could and should have been considered to ensure the family knew that information sooner.
“Similarly, we recognise the additional distress experienced by Ms Faiers’ family at learning of Mr Scatchard’s criminal record through an online search and by not disclosing sooner he was at the address and spoken to by officers when police initially attended.
“This was information that should have been privately communicated to Mrs Faiers’ family in a sensitive way and at an appropriate time.
“The IOPC also found the service level was unacceptable in terms of the decision made not to arrest Mr Scatchard at the scene of Ms Faiers’ death.”
The spokesman said it would not be appropriate to give further comment about that decision due to ongoing proceedings by the coroner.
He added that no conduct or unsatisfactory performance matters were identified relating to any police officers or staff, while no organisational learning was identified.
Following the death of Ms Faiers, Avon and Somerset Police warned that Scatchard posed a serious risk to women with whom he formed relationships and that he had been a regular user of dating apps.
He had previous convictions for sexual offences in which he drugged his victims to abuse them.
Scatchard was wanted on recall to prison, as well as in connection with the murder investigation into Ms Faiers’ death.
In a statement, the IOPC said an investigation had found “the level of service provided to the family of Kelly Faiers was unacceptable, after we determined there were failings in the force’s response to her death”.
Derrick Campbell, director of the IOPC, said: “Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the family of Kelly Faiers for their loss.
“Avon and Somerset Police could and should have done better in the tragic circumstances of this case.
“We found the service provided by the force was unacceptable regarding three individual officers, whose actions and decisions fell below expectations.
“While we did not find any evidence to indicate they may have breached police standards of professional behaviour, justifying disciplinary proceedings, we decided the officers should reflect and learn from the failings we identified and they will undergo the reflective practice review process (RPRP).”
Scatchard and Ms Faiers went out for the evening on October 14 2023.
He called paramedics to his home address at 4.15am on October 15, reporting that Ms Faiers was critically ill. She was pronounced dead by paramedics.
A post-mortem examination to determine the cause of Ms Faiers’ death was inconclusive but it is being treated as suspicious by police.
Scatchard’s cause of death was also reported as inconclusive, though police said they were not aware of any suspicious circumstances surrounding it.
