Failed by the system: Tragic end to couple whose violent relationship culminated in murder was 'entirely predictable'
A violent couple whose abusive relationship ended with her stabbing him to death in a Wolverhampton flat were failed by the authorities, a damning new report has revealed.
Officials visited John Fletcher and Caroline Loweth 15 times in the run-up to his death - and the tragic end to their relationship was predicted by experts 20 months previously.
Loweth, 49, stabbed 53-year-old Mr Fletcher at the flat she rented in Market Square on October 27, 2013.
A review produced for Safer Wolverhampton Partnership concludes that there were a catalogue of failings by Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARAC), made up of police, health workers, social services experts, probation and other official bodies.
The report reveals MARAC discussed the couple 15 times in two years and 14 professional organisations were involved in their case. It found that key people such as their GPs were not involved in safety planning; there was no communication with A&E staff despite them being repeat attendees; they were not given enough close supervision; and that there was a failure to come up with new strategies to help the couple.
The document states: "That the couple were at risk for such a sustained period is a shocking truth.
"A tragic outcome in this case was entirely predictable, indeed it was recorded as a possibility by professionals in February 2012.
"They were repeating responses that had not worked, with little sign of innovation or management oversight within agencies or at MARAC. Without a change the homicide was not preventable."
The MARAC meetings into the couple took place between August 2011 and October 2013.
The report continues: "By the time they first reached the police-led MARAC, their high-risk domestic abuse was already well-established and had already gone too long unchallenged.
"MARAC should have been able to define a safety plan with clear accountable actions. Yet significant systematic weaknesses existed that undermined the efforts. There is little evidence that either partners felt able to challenge or address these or that MARAC significantly influenced the response of front-line officers although they were all too familiar to the response teams, called out countless times to their addresses.
"That apparently no one challenged the 15 appearances at MARAC until June 2013 is evidence of a lack of escalation policy and management oversight at a sufficiently senior level."
