Family of woman killed by man with psychosis criticise English prison and policing ‘lapses'
The family of a woman killed by a man with psychosis have said she 'paid with her life for lapses in the English prison and policing system' after a coroner said failures by prison and police authorities contributed to the killing.
In a damning verdict, the senior coroner for Dorset, Rachael Griffin, said Marta Elena Vento, 27, a Spanish national, was unlawfully killed by Stephen Cole in December 2020 while she was working as receptionist a Travelodge hotel in Bournemouth.
In the summer and autumn of 2020, Cole had been on remand in Winchester prison for indecent exposure. He attacked two fellow inmates and two staff members, one of whom needed hospital treatment.
He was assessed by prison psychiatrists, who judged he had psychosis or possible paranoid schizophrenia and was prescribed olanzapine, which stabilised him. The healthcare services were run at the prison by a private health provider, Practice Plus Group (PPG).
Cole was unexpectedly released on 27 October 2020 with only a month's worth of the medication. After it ran out, he attacked two people at the accommodation where he was staying and was placed in the Travelodge where Vento worked by his family after he was evicted from another hotel where he had been placed by the housing authority.
On 9 December, Cole punched, kicked and attacked Vento with hair clippers. The attack lasted for 42 minutes, in which Vento sustained 55 injuries. She later died.
Recording a narrative verdict on Friday, Griffin said: 'Marta Elena Vento was unlawfully killed by another who, at the time of her death, was unmedicated for a diagnosed mental health illness because of a failure to sufficiently plan and ensure the continuity of his mental healthcare upon his release from prison six weeks prior to Martha's death, and because he was not adequately managed as a sex offender in line with national guidance on his release from prison.'
After the hearing, Vento's family issued a statement. 'Today's conclusion confirms what we have suspected in the four long years since our dear Marta was torn from our lives,' it said.
'It is overwhelmingly hard for us to understand how the English prison health system could allow someone like Stephen Cole, who was so clearly unwell, to be released without a care plan and the ongoing medication he needed.
'It is equally hard for us to understand why the English police did not make themselves fully aware of the danger Cole posed when he stayed at the Travelodge on that night.
'Our daughter paid with her life for lapses in the English prison and policing systems. The cost to our family can never be measured. Without our Marta, our lives will never be the same.'
In her concluding remarks, the coroner said that a discharge summary was not sent to Cole's GP upon his release from prison, nor was there a referral to the mental health team to continue his care.
'At this time, there was no integrated mental health policy in place within the healthcare department of the prison,' she said.
'There was a lack of comprehensive care planning infrastructure across prison healthcare nationally and the prison healthcare team were experiencing pressures arising from reduced staffing following the mobilisation of the healthcare contract at the prison and the impact of the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic.'
Griffin said Cole was given medication upon release from prison, but there was no 'continuity of the mental health care' and it soon ran out, leading to a relapse of psychosis.
Dorset police's team dealing with violent and sexual offenders was responsible for managing Cole in the community, the inquest heard.
Griffin recorded that there was 'incomplete information gathering to identify, assess and manage his risks in the community, and no Armss [at-risk mental state service] risk assessment was completed or management plan put into place in respect to the perpetrator prior to Marta's death'.
The inquest previously heard that just before the attack, Cole told a police offender manager he was being spied on through the smoke alarms at the Travelodge and people were knocking on his window, though he was on the fourth floor.
Also, shortly before, Cole's family arranged for him to see a GP to try to get more olanzapine but the doctor said he was not able to without details from those who had prescribed it.
In 2021 Cole pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility due to a psychotic episode and was given an indefinite hospital order.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Useless conman, 23, sat other people's theory driving tests for them but failed 11 times
The DVLA found he sat tests in Chesterfield, Surrey, Carlisle, Worcester, Redditch, Dudley, Swindon, Bradford and Wolverhampton over a 19-month period HIGHWAY TOAD Useless conman, 23, sat other people's theory driving tests for them but failed 11 times Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A USELESS conman sat people's theory driving test for them — but failed 11 times. Qounain Khan, 23, was paid to impersonate learners whose English was not good enough to sit the written test — despite not having a licence himself. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up He would change his hairstyle to turn up at test centres across the UK with the candidate's provisional driving licence and bank card as proof of ID. But Khan clocked up the fails as his face did not match the mugshot on the driving licence. He passed a 12th test in Cardiff in June 2023 but by then the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency had rumbled him. It found he sat tests in Chesterfield, Surrey, Carlisle, Worcester, Redditch, Dudley, Swindon, Bradford and Wolverhampton over a 19-month period. Prosecutor Justin Davies said: 'He was taking these tests while he was not the holder of a driving license himself. 'He operated across the country for 19 months playing the lead role as an impersonator. 'But he was able to be identified, despite wearing his hair in different styles.' The university student, from Birmingham, who had debts from gambling, drinking and drug use, had claimed that he was given £300 to stand-in for a learner and only got paid if they passed. He was jailed for eight months at Cardiff crown court after admitting charges including 12 of fraud by false representation. None of the learner drivers were prosecuted, but were sent warning letters by the DVSA. 'I'm a driving instructor and here are the 5 most common questions asked on the theory test'-
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Married ex-prison officer jailed for filming sex with lag in cell shows off cryptic new tattoo as she enjoys freedom
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AN ex-prison officer who had sex with a lag in a cell smiles after being freed from jail — sporting a new 'love' tattoo. Linda de Sousa Abreu, 31, lapped up the sun in shorts, sports bra and polka-dot bandana. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 10 Smiling Linda de Sousa Abreu laps up the sun in shorts, sports bra and polka-dot bandana Credit: Splash 10 De Sousa Abreu showed off her new neck tattoo saying 'Amor', which is Spanish for 'love' 10 De Sousa Abreu was filmed romping with lag Linton Weirich at Wandsworth jail Credit: Central News The married former guard — released after serving five months of a 15-month sentence — had a new neck inking saying 'Amor', which is Spanish for 'love'. We revealed last year that she was filmed romping with lag Linton Weirich, while ignoring messages on her radio, at Wandsworth jail, South West London. She was spotted on Saturday near her home in Fulham, West London. A neighbour said: 'It doesn't look like what has happened has impacted her at all. 'She looks like she is loving life. 'She's smiling, enjoying the sun and got a new tattoo. 'I think she will try and launch a new career making the most of the fame she got.' 10 Former guard De Sousa Abreu was released after serving five months of a 15-month sentence Credit: Metropolitan Police 10 De Sousa Abreu was spotted on Saturday near her home in Fulham, West London Credit: Splash 10 A neighbour believes De Sousa Abreu will try and 'launch a new career making the most of her fame' In the shocking sex clip, which went viral, a lag is heard saying: 'This is how we live at Wandsworth.' A month earlier, the jail was slammed for 'systemic and cultural failures that stemmed from poor leadership'. De Sousa Abreu was arrested at Heathrow as she tried to board a flight to Madrid. She was jailed in January after admitting misconduct in public office. 10 Linda was jailed in January after admitting misconduct in public office Credit: Splash 10 De Sousa Abreu was arrested at Heathrow as she tried to board a flight to Madrid 10 In the shocking video, De Sousa Abreu can be heard saying 'this is how we live at Wandsworth'
Scottish Sun
7 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
English town's war over ‘Berlin Wall 2' takes ANOTHER twist after 6ft concrete barrier ‘cut off' locals
A mysterious local had smashed a hole in the wall WALL AND PEACE English town's war over 'Berlin Wall 2' takes ANOTHER twist after 6ft concrete barrier 'cut off' locals Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AN ENGLISH town's war over "Berlin Wall 2" has taken another twist after the 6ft concrete barrier has now been "cut off" to locals. The towering wall built between the Kendalls Lane estates in Okehampton, Devon, had left residents stunned by its imposing presence. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Devon's 'Berlin Wall' saga has taken another dramatic twist Credit: Devon County Council 2 A tall fence has been installed around the dismantled wall Credit: Devon County Council The 6ft wall had cut off a walking route used by locals to get their children to the primary school. One resident revealed that the wall prevented her husband from getting through, as he uses a mobility scooter. However, tensions between locals and the council have reached new heights after a mystery resident rented a JCB digger and smashed a hole in the wall. This came as welcome news to residents, with the gap wide enough for pushchairs and mobility scooters to pass through. However, earlier this month, there were reports that the owners had allegedly dismantled the wall and scattered the bricks across the path to block access. A tall fence was also installed around the dismantled wall to block access once again. Councillor George Dexter, of West Devon Borough Council, North Ward, told DevonLive: "This was done (on June 11) without warning after the children from the estate had gone to school, so they have to make a long detour to go home. "I was told that St James' school had to inform the parents to allow them to leave early." The councillor previously explained that the issue with the narrow strip of land is that it sits on a ransom strip connected to nearby privately owned land. This means using the road as a path is technically trespassing. I thought Trump was only building walls in America A local said online Cllr Caroline Mott, West Devon's Borough Council's Lead Member for Planning & Built Environment, revealed that the "work carried out, happened on the day of the Temporary Stop Notice, which prevents such work, expired". And that they were "now considering the implications for further Planning Enforcement action". Residents had compared the structure to the infamous Berlin Wall, which fell with the collapse of the Soviet Union. The structure was even covered in graffiti reading "Berlin Wall Mk 2", prompting the council to issue an Enforcement Notice last month, warning the owner to remove it or face action. "I thought Trump was only building walls in America!" one local wrote online. Other residents said it changed the feel of the area, with some joking that "watchtowers" would be added next. West Devon Borough issued an Enforcement Notice ordering the removal of the unauthorised structure between the two housing estates. The landowner appealed, but the council told the Planning Inspectorate that the 6ft wall should be demolished. It comes after a disastrous newbuild estate is set to get more homes despite being unfinished for five years and cut off by two landslides. And a furious mum-of-two says she is being 'treated like a criminal' after 'stuck up' neighbours complained about a double-decker bus parked on her drive.
