Woman Killed After Police Ignored 999 Calls

Darren Little, Midlands correspondent

A police force has been told its handling of the murder of a vulnerable woman was
"wholly inadequate" by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Joanne Butler, 38, died in January 2006 after a brutal attack by her neighbour and his teenage son.

She twice dialled 999 but Leicestershire Police failed to send an officer to her home in Earl Shilton.

Two other emergency calls were made in quick succession - one from her killer - but still no-one was dispatched.

The IPCC report found that failures were made in the handling of all the calls. The last three were answered by the same person but for technical reasons no action can be taken against him.

IPCC commissioner Amerdeep Somal from the IPCC told Sky News: "In my view there was a case to answer for misconduct for the call dispatcher. He had the best information that night as to the predicament and what sort of response was required and made poor judgement in my view.

"However, in the intervening period the call dispatcher had left being a civilian member of staff and was now employed as a police officer. What that meant was that he did not have to co-operate with our investigation and he refused to do so."

The saddest aspect is that at no stage did anyone appear to show any concern for Joanne.

IPCC Commissioner Amerdeep Somal

Joanne Butler had a history of mental health issues and was known to the police.

On the night she died vital background information on her could not be accessed by the call handler.

Joanne died from head injuries after being attacked with an axe, an iron bar and a sock filled with stones.

Her mother Pauline told Sky News: "On the night if somebody had gone round to my daughter's flat she might still be alive now, but all the calls were ignored or not dealt with, I'm horrified really."