A woman was brutally attacked in her own home after her abusive ex-partner evaded custody and breached his restraining order. Angela Craddock, from Warrington, died in April 2018 after being beaten by William Smart, despite the fact he was on recall for breaching his licence conditions.
At a recent inquest hearing, Cheshire's senior coroner Jacqueline Devonish heard how Smart fatally assaulted 40-year-old Ms Craddock after being released from prison, where he was detained for assaulting his victim and carrying a knife. Despite being given a restraining order for a year, Smart continued to hound his ex, Cheshire Live reports, and called her a total of 160 times in the 39 days after his conviction.
Ms Devonish, who has released a report to prevent future deaths, raised concerns that the correct staff were not made aware of Smart's restraining order. In the document, addressed to HMP Altcourse, Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service, the coroner highlighted areas that could be addressed to prevent similar deaths taking place.
