Police acted properly in domestic abuse case that ended with murder, finds independent review

Police acted properly in their treatment of a woman who was murdered three years after first reporting domestic abuse, an independent investigation has found.

Denise Skilbeck, 31, was stabbed and beaten in the apartment she shared with Gary Spalding at Dobson's Quay, Newark, on March 16 2011.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) found police had done all they could.

Spalding, 34, was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison in September 2011 after he admitted murder.

Denise moved from Bicester, Oxfordshire, to Newark in 2007. From 2008, she had contact with police nine times.

The last contact was three days before she was murdered.

The IPCC found relevant domestic violence procedures were followed in handling these incidents and the outcome could not have been prevented or foreseen.

IPCC Commissioner Amerdeep Somal said: "Police were right to arrest Gary Spalding for reported assaults on a number of occasions prior to the murder but he was never prosecuted due to a lack of sufficient independent evidence.

"Denise was reluctant to fully engage with the police.

"There is no evidence that based on the circumstances and information available to them, police could have realistically done any more to prevent or foresee the tragic outcome.

"I have had past occasion to be critical of Nottinghamshire Police in the handling of domestic violence and I am pleased that, partly as a result of IPCC recommendations, the force has taken steps to improve its performance."

In a statement, her family said: "Denise sadly displayed behaviour typical to victims of domestic violence when emergency calls are made, including; making excuses for the perpetrator and covering up their behaviour in all probability, for fear of repercussion."

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Broadbent, from Nottinghamshire Police, said: "The IPCC acknowledges the strenuous efforts the force has taken over the last year to tackle domestic violence but there is still more we must and are doing to combat this appalling type of crime.

"We have fundamentally reviewed our policy and procedures to ensure they are as robust and victim-focused as is possible."

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