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Richard Scatchard, 70, who drugged his victims, went on the run and was later found dead in a caravan
Police who allowed a man with Leicestershire links to flee after the killing of a woman have been criticised for not taking him into custody.
After the killing of Kelly Faiers, 61, Richard Scatchard, 70, went on the run and was later found dead in a caravan.
Scatchard, who drugged his victims, was initially questioned by police after he called an ambulance for Ms Faiers, who was pronounced dead at the scene in Somerset in October 2023.
When they returned to question him about the suspicious death later that day he had fled. The search continued for several months before his dead body was found in April 2024. He had been the main suspect in the murder case.
The family of Ms Faiers said they felt “angry and let down” by the police for letting him disappear. And the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has now upheld complaints and described the response by Avon and Somerset Police as “unacceptable”.
Scatchard and Ms Faiers went out together on the evening of Saturday, October 14, last year in Minehead, Somerset. Scatchard later called the local ambulance service to his home address in Blenheim Road in the coastal town, at 4.15am the following morning after she fell ill, and paramedics pronounced her dead.
Officers attended and spoke with Scatchard briefly before leaving the scene after their bosses – who had not yet ruled the death as suspicious – decided Scatchard should not be arrested. But when they returned later in the day to speak further with him, Scatchard had disappeared from his home.
Meanwhile, the victim’s family were not told about Scatchard being there at the time of the death or Scatchard’s history of sex offences.
Despite more than 300 lines of inquiry, including speaking to witnesses and reviewing CCTV – there were no confirmed sightings of Scatchard until his body was found at a Somerset caravan site.
In its judgment released on Tuesday (October 21), the IOPC investigation found the level of service provided to the victim’s family was “unacceptable” and determined “there were failings in the force’s response to her death”.
The report said the family of Ms Faiers had made several complaints in relation to the decisions and actions taken by Avon and Somerset Police immediately after she died. The IOPC upheld three out of the seven complaints made.
The report said: “The family were concerned that Mr Scatchard was not questioned at that time despite his previous convictions.
“Officers who spoke to him said they had concerns about his behaviour and had considered arresting him, but they were advised by CID not to and that Ms Faiers’ death should not be treated as suspicious.
“The next day, a decision was made to treat Ms Faiers’ death as a murder enquiry but when officers returned, he had left the property. We determined that the service provided to the family was unacceptable.”
The IOPC upheld two further complaints where it found police provided an “unacceptable level of service related to failings in communications”.
Its report added: “Ms Faiers’ family were not told for nine days that Mr Scatchard had been at the property at the time of Ms Faiers’ death.
“We also found it unacceptable [that] the force delayed telling Ms Faiers’ relatives they were treating her death as suspicious. They were only told the day after a missing person appeal had been issued for Mr Scatchard on 17 October.
“Mr Scatchard’s name was later released to media before the family were notified of either his full name or his offending history.”
Speaking previously about Kelly’s disappearance, her family said they were furious that Scatchard was “allowed” to disappear.
Her children said they felt “angry and let down” that he was not properly questioned immediately after her death.
The family said their own safety had been put at risk, with Jazz Faiers, 27, living in her mum’s home, which Scatchard had visited on multiple occasions.
Speaking after today’s ruling, IOPC director Derrick Campbell said: “Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the family of Kelly Faiers for their loss.
“Avon and Somerset Police could and should have done better in the tragic circumstances of this case.
“We found the service provided by the force was unacceptable regarding three individual officers, whose actions and decisions fell below expectations.
“While we did not find any evidence to indicate they may have breached police standards of professional behaviour, justifying disciplinary proceedings, we decided the officers should reflect and learn from the failings we identified and they will undergo the reflective practice review process.”
Avon and Somerset Police said previously Scatchard was considered a risk to the public, specifically women he formed relationships with. He was previously convicted of sexual offences in which he drugged his victims.
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