Katie Simpson: PSNI investigation was 'flawed' and 'failed' the Simpson family

The investigation following the death of Katie Simpson was "flawed" and "failed her family" the Police Ombudsman has said today.

Katie Simpson, 21, from Tynan, Co Armagh, died in hospital on 10 August 2020, after being driven part of the way there by Jonathan Creswell, the man subsequently arrested and charged with her murder.

While going to Altnagelvin Hospital, Katie was transferred to an ambulance with Creswell, who had been driving Katie's car, telling paramedics and two police officers that she had attempted to take her own life.

Read more: Katie Simpson: Coroner to ask BBC to hand over relevant material on death of showjumper

Read more: Three PSNI officers involved in Katie Simpson case face misconduct proceedings

Police were also told by Creswell and another person that Katie had recently been injured in a fall from a horse.

Katie died in hospital without regaining consciousness on 10 August 2020.

In the following months, police treated Katie's death as a suicide, even though there had been multiple reports from members of the public and other police officers that she was subject to controlling and coercive behaviour by Creswell and that such a suicide attempt was considered out of character.

Police also knew in the early phase of the investigation that Creswell had been convicted for assaulting his former partner in 2009.

The Police Ombudsman investigation concluded that the police investigation was hindered by the misleading working assumption adopted by a number of officers that Katie’s injuries were self-inflicted.

In recent months it has received two further complaints regarding the case, including one which alleges criminal wrongdoing by a member of the PSNI with a new investigation into this being launched.

Katie Simpson

Hugh Hume, Police Ombudsman Chief Executive, speaking after the investigation findings were given to the Simpson family, said: "Intelligence received by police both prior to, and following, Katie’s death referenced that she may have been the victim of controlling behaviours, that the attempted suicide was suspicious, that Katie had not fallen from a horse, and that medical staff had also expressed concerns about the circumstances of Katie’s injuries.

"Although it is clear that this intelligence was viewed and logged by police, it did not change the direction of the police investigation.

"There appeared to be a general lack of an investigative mindset which contributed to shortcomings in evidence identification and retrieval, scene management and identification, a willingness to accept at face value the accounts from Jonathan Creswell, and ultimately confusion around the ownership of the police investigation."

The Ombudsman report highlighted a series of failures from officers investigating her death as no effective searches were carried out at Katie’s address and that no supervisory officer attended the house at the initial stages of the investigation.

It also found that while Katie's car, which had been driven by Creswell to meet ambulances, had been seized on August 3, for forensic examination, only a search of the car was conducted.

The search recovered two mobile phones which were old devices attributed to Katie. Devices in the house were not seized, nor considered, and no other action was taken to establish the existence, and whereabouts, of Katie’s mobile phone. Its location was only discovered following a criminal interview with Jonathan Creswell after his arrest in March 2021. It had been hidden in a field.

No forensic examination of the car ever took place.

Among the other investigative failings identified by the Police Ombudsman was the lack of consideration given to gathering potential physical evidence from Katie herself, including blood samples and photographs of her injuries and, despite police being aware at an early stage that she was unlikely to survive.

No enquiries were conducted to establish the circumstances of Katie’s alleged fall from a horse.

CCTV footage which showed Creswell leaving and returning to Katie’s address on the 3 August, and a woman taking a bag from the house and putting it in a second car, was not pursued as a line of enquiry. This was despite one of the first responding officers noting the delay between the ambulance leaving with Katie, at which point Creswell was told to follow, and his eventual arrival at the hospital in a different car, accompanied by a woman.

Enquiries did not take place with Katie’s family and friends to see if they had any concerns and to gain a greater understanding of Katie’s life, and there was "no clear witness strategy recorded" until January 2021. This resulted in missed opportunities to take accounts from potential witnesses who could have been valuable to the investigation.

The Police Ombudsman also found that the police investigation, which straddled three separate departments – Local Policing Team (LPT), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Major Investigation Team (MIT) - until it was transferred to a MIT in January 2021, was affected by insufficient oversight and guidance.

Mr Hume continued: "Ownership of the case was initially assigned to an inexperienced officer from a Local Policing Team, despite more experienced officers in local policing, CID and MIT being fully aware that the officer had neither the experience nor capacity to manage a case of this nature.

"When concerns were raised early in the investigation, particularly in respect of Jonathan Creswell’s history of violent and controlling behaviour, it was the clear duty of those more experienced officers to ensure there was proper supervision, guidance and control.

"If not for concerns raised by a small number of individuals, both inside and outside the PSNI, there is every likelihood that Katie’s death would have been recorded as a suicide.

“That would have deprived her family and friends of any opportunity for justice, which was ultimately denied them by Creswell’s death. It would, however, also have exposed members of the public, particularly young women, to the continued risk posed by Creswell, whose actions, had they gone undetected, may have become increasingly emboldened."

The Police Ombudsman investigation identified breaches of the PSNI Code of Ethics in respect of professional duty, the conduct of police investigations and the duty of supervisors. As a result, disciplinary recommendations were made to the PSNI in respect of six police officers. These were considered by the PSNI, and resulted in the following outcomes:

Disciplinary proceedings were unable to be held in the case of two police officers who had retired. In the case of one police officer, no misconduct was proven. One police officer received a written warning. One police officer received action aimed at improving performance One police officer received management advice.

As a result of the investigation, the Police Ombudsman also made three policy recommendations which are intended to improve operational policing in the future.

The Police Ombudsman recommended that:

the service instruction in relation to death investigations be reviewed and updated to include incidents resulting in life threatening injuries. The PSNI subsequently developed a Death Investigation Manual as an appropriate framework for guidance to officers. sudden deaths and incidents resulting in life threatening injuries require the attendance of a Detective Sergeant to take operational command of the incident. PSNI did not accept this recommendation on the basis that it was not proportionate and that a uniformed sergeant was sufficient. cases which are transferred in ownership are properly reviewed and records made on the investigation log at the point of transfer to ensure there is clear accountability. PSNI accepted this recommendation and updated the police computer system supervisions standards to reflect this requirement.

In recent months the PONI has received two further complaints regarding the case, including one which could amount to criminal wrongdoing by one officer involved, with a new investigation being launched into this.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.