Sharon Perrett murder: police told of partner's violence months before her death

DORSET Police were told a Christchurch woman’s partner was violent towards her just months before he killed her in a horrific attack, it has emerged.

Despite being absolved of blame, the force has said it will make changes to its policies on dealing with domestic abuse.

Sharon Perrett suffered horrendous injuries and died at her Park Gardens flat at the hands of abusive partner Daniel O’Malley-Keyes in August 2018. He was recently convicted of her murder at a Winchester Crown Court trial, jailed for life and told he will serve a minimum of 18 years in prison.

But it has now emerged Ms Perrett and O’Malley-Keyes had contact with the force in April 2018 after a third party contacted the constabulary reporting a domestic disturbance. Police investigated but found no crime had been committed.

Ms Perrett also went to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital a few weeks later with rib and torso injuries, telling medics that O’Malley-Keyes had threatened her and assaulted her about six times previously.

As a result Ms Perrett was referred to Dorset Police’s Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) and a domestic abuse advisor attempted to contact her about the alleged offences.

However, she never responded.

Because of what subsequently happened to Ms Perrett, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) got involved.

An investigation cleared Dorset Police of blame, but the force has said it will make changes to its policies regardless.

The IOPC said an investigation found Dorset Police made “genuine attempts” to contact Ms Perrett. Seven calls were made to Ms Perrett’s phone after her referral to MARAC but the device was not in use and switched off.

“We found no indication any police officer may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or committed a criminal offence,” the IOPC said.

The judgement went on: “Dorset Police carried out a review of their policy into how contact should be made with domestic abuse victims.

“The policy now suggests alternative methods of communication should be used when phone calls have been unsuccessful, for example, contacting family members providing it is safe to do so.

“After making body worn video (BWV) available to all frontline officers, the force has also updated its domestic abuse policy to include the requirement for officers to use it when attending incidents of domestic abuse in line with national guidance,” it added.

IOPC regional director Catrin Evans said: “My thoughts continue to be with Ms Perrett’s family and friends after their devastating loss.

“Our investigation has found that Dorset Police made proactive attempts to contact Ms Perrett in line with established practices and procedures. These attempts to contact Ms Perrett were sadly unsuccessful.

“We note that alternative methods of contact such as attending Ms Perrett’s home were considered but ruled out as inappropriate as they may have alerted the perpetrator to the fact police were involved and put Ms Perrett in immediate danger.”