A coroner has warned there is a “postcode lottery” for stalking victims following the death of a young woman who was stabbed to death by her former colleague, in a report which her heartbroken parents called a “damning indictment”.
Gracie Spinks, 23, was unlawfully killed by Michael Sellers, 35, on 18 June 2021 while tending her horse in Duckmanton, four months after she reported him for stalking. She was stabbed repeatedly and Sellers took his own life shortly afterwards.
On Monday, coroner Matthew Kewley outlined six key areas of concern and said there was a lack of consistency in police forces’ abilities to investigate stalking reports nationwide, after Derbyshire Constabulary failed to make proper risk assessments and later admitted multiple serious failings.
An inquest into her death earlier heard that the former supervisor had behaved inappropriately towards eight other women before he stalked Ms Spinks, yet his previous employment history had not been requested by the police.
Gracie Spinks reported her killer to police months before her death (Family handout/PA)— (PA Media)
In a Prevention of Future Death report addressed to Derbyshire Constabulary and home secretary James Cleverly, the coroner called on police to ensure that officers were adequately trained on how to deal with stalking cases and that effective notes were taken in all investigations.
He said: “During the inquest, I heard evidence from the police officers who were involved in investigating Gracie’s stalking complaint in February 2021.
“Derbyshire Constabulary accepted that there were serious failings in how Gracie’s complaint was investigated by these officers.
“I do recognise that Derbyshire Constabulary has taken some steps following Gracie’s death to improve knowledge around stalking.
Michael Sellers seen on CCTV shortly before he stabbed her— (Derbyshire Police)
“However, as the Detective Chief Superintendent who gave evidence for the Constabulary accepted, more needs to be done to improve knowledge and understanding around how officers should investigate complaints of stalking.”
After Ms Spinks reported Sellers for stalking in February 2021, stating her concerns he might “kidnap” someone, he was deemed low risk and was only offered “words of advice” by an officer.
Police also dismissed a bag of weapons – later found to belong to Sellers – that was found near where Ms Spinks was eventually killed a month later.
A member of the public had reported finding the bag, which contained knives, an axe, a hammer and Viagra as well as a note with the words ‘Don’t Lie’. Despite this, officers treated the bag as lost property and failed to visit the scene where they were discovered, which was just a short distance from where Ms Spinks’ horse.
The coroner also said he was concerned over an “ongoing issue” within the force about how it dealt with potentially dangerous weapons being found within the community.
She was stabbed in a field while Sellers was discovered dead a short while later (Family handout/PA)— (PA Media)
Mr Kewley referenced a recent incident from August 2023, where a child discovered a knife hidden in a sock. While the child’s parents were concerned it had been concealed to be used at a later date, the call handler advised them to destroy the blade and advised that police would not be attending.
The force later admitted and apologised for multiple failings, although an inquest jury was not asked to decide whether these contributed to Ms Spinks’ death.
Addressing Mr Cleverly, Mr Kewley said: “During the inquest, I heard evidence about the benefits that stalking advocates can provide to those who are victims of stalking.
“Whilst I was reassured to hear that Derbyshire now benefits from stalking advocates, I heard evidence that many other areas around the UK do not have stalking advocates.
“This essentially creates a postcode lottery for victims who report stalking to the police.
“I am concerned about the lack of consistency and availability of stalking advocates to victims of stalking across the UK.”
In a statement, Ms Spinks’ parents, Richard Spinks and Alison Ward, thanked the coroner for his “comprehensive and insightful” report and said their daughter was “tragically let down”.
Her parents said that faith in the police had been ‘entirely lost’— (PA)
They said: “The report is a damning indictment, it details the colossal failures and the many areas of concern that were sadly evident throughout the inquest.
“Even before Gracie’s tragedy the public trust in the police was hanging by a thread, after numerous scandals and systemic failings, unfortunately after Gracie’s death, faith in the police has been entirely lost.
“Vulnerable victims of stalking need to feel safe in the knowledge that the police will listen, investigate and protect them. Victims need to be instilled with confidence to make the initial complaint.
“The home secretary must unequivocally communicate to the chief constable that standards of policing need to improve and receive assurance that not only will recommendations in the report be followed but there will be oversight on implementation across each area identified.
“Officers should moving forward be held accountable to the standards of excellence expected by the public.
“We hope in the future that no parents have to sit through an inquest with broken hearts, overwhelming grief, knowing that the grief will be ever-present for life and continue long after the officers who failed Gracie have given evidence and left the court building.”
Both Derbyshire Constabulary and the Home Office have 56 days to respond, outlining what action has been or will be taken or stating why no action is proposed.
Deputy Chief Constable at Derbyshire Constabulary, Simon Blatchly, said the force will review the recommendations made by the coroner.
He said: “We have today received the Prevention of Future Deaths Report from the coroner following the inquest into the death of Gracie Spinks.
“As was said following the conclusion of the inquest, we fully accept there were significant failings throughout the two incidents relating to Gracie.
“We will now review the recommendations that have been made and reply within the relevant timeframe.
“We are absolutely committed to providing the best possible response for victims of stalking and harassment and, since Gracie’s death in June 2021, significant work has already been completed to tackle the failures that were identified prior to the inquest.
“There has also, over the last two and a half-years, been significant changes to the ways in which we as a force receive and investigate stalking reports, as well as how we support and safeguard victims of these crimes.
“I also want to reiterate the force’s sincere apologies to the family, friends and wider community.”
