Misconduct notices have been served on 10 Metropolitan Police officers who had contact with two women murdered by the same violent abuser.
Carl Cooper, 66, was jailed for life in 2024 for the murders of Naomi Hunte, 41, who was stabbed in the chest, and Fiona Holm, 48, whose body has never been found.
Both had been in a relationship with the handyman around a year apart and had complained to officers about his violence.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said ten Met officers were slapped with disciplinary notices as part of an ongoing investigation into contact the force had with Ms Hunt and Ms Holm.
They include a police constable, working in the control centre, who was served with a misconduct notice last month relating to a call which mentioned Cooper and was marked as a hoax.
The spokesman said an anonymous caller stated Cooper had murdered someone that week.
It was made on June 25, 2023 - days before Ms Holm was reported missing, the watchdog said.
Ms Holm, of Catford, south east London, is believed to have died on June 20.
IOPC director Amanda Rowe said the investigation into police actions following Ms Holm’s report of an assault by Cooper in April 2023 had led to a detective sergeant and a detective constable being informed they were being investigated for potential gross misconduct.
A detective inspector and two police constables were being investigated for potential misconduct relating to those actions, she said.
The Met has previously said Cooper was not charged following the attack, despite being arrested.
Ms Rowe added: “Our investigation subsequently widened and, since September, we have served gross misconduct notices on three police constables and a police sergeant in relation to reports Ms Hunte had made to the Met about Cooper in April and October 2021.”
During Cooper’s trial, Woolwich Crown Court heard Ms Hunte, who was found stabbed to death on her sofa in south east London on Valentine’s Day in 2022, made a number of domestic callouts to police in 2020 and 2021 and told them he was “obsessed” with her.
In a police call-out to her home on June 29 2021, she told officers Cooper “stalks me and I’m really scared now”.
After his conviction, an investigation was launched after the victims’ families made complaints alleging “serious shortcomings” in police investigations prior to their deaths.
Ms Rowe said: “The serving of conduct notices does not necessarily mean disciplinary proceedings will follow. At the end of our investigation, we will decide whether any officers should face misconduct proceedings.
“All parties have been kept informed of developments in the investigation.”
The Met has previously apologised for “mistakes” made when dealing with allegations against Cooper.
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