Called to Account
A young mother murdered by her ex-partner was failed by two police forces who mishandled her desperate calls for help, a report revealed today. The report from police watchdogs concludes that "systemic and individual failings" on the part of Gwent and South Wales Police, and the 999 system itself, conspired against Joanna Michael on the night of her death in August last year. Tonight, in a special live debate, Eye on Wales explores the circumstances behind the tragedy and brings together key figures to discuss the case, failings in the police response that night, and lessons that can be learnt from it.
Last updated: 26 July 2010
Joanna Michael, 25, was stabbed to death by her former partner, Cyron Williams, at her home in St Mellons, Cardiff in the early hours of August 5th, while her two young children were in the house.
She had rung police asking for help, warning that Williams was coming to kill her, but they did not reach the property in time.
Williams subsequently admitted murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a recommendation that he serve a minimum tariff of 20 years.
Today's report from the Independent Police Complaints Commission concludes that two call handlers for Gwent and South Wales Police forces, who took 999 calls from Joanna Michael that night, failed in their duties.
The Gwent call handler faces a disciplinary panel on a charge of gross misconduct, while the South Wales call handler also faces disciplinary action.
The IPCC said today, "Joanna rang the police because she needed urgent assistance and was denied timely help because of a fatal combination of technological and human errors."
"The simple fact is that at 2.29am when Joanna called 999 an immediate police response could have got to her house in five minutes."
"Because of all the various failings, the emergency response did not arrive until 2.50am, when she had already been stabbed, probably at about 2.45am."
"The IPCC cannot say that an earlier response would have saved Joanna's life."
"What we can say for certain is that more could and should have been done for Joanna, who was denied the opportunity for a prompt response which may have led to a different outcome."
The case is one of four murders of women which occurred within a few weeks last summer in Wales, and which form the basis of a wider review by the IPCC of police handling of cases involving a background of domestic abuse.
Discussing the case with Peter Johnson on tonight's programme will be Tom Davies, IPCC Commissioner for Wales; Carmel Napier, Deputy Chief Constable of Gwent and lead officer on domestic abuse for the Association of Chief Police Officers; and Paula Hardy, chief executive of Welsh Women's Aid.
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