Statement following the conclusion of the inquest into the death of Gracie Spinks

Detective Superintendent Darren De’ath said: During the inquest it has been clear that there were significant failures throughout both Gracie’s report of stalking and the way in which the finding of the bag of weapons was dealt with.

Put simply, as a force we failed Gracie - and for that I can only offer my own, and the force’s, most sincere apologies.

We have now heard the conclusion of the jury – who we thank for their time and dedication in hearing the evidence and considering it so closely – and we accept these fully.

We await any further recommendations that may come from the Coroner and will review these in due course. But I want to be clear that, since Gracie’s death in June 2021, significant work has already been completed to tackle the failures that were identified prior to the inquest.

There has also, over the last two-and-a-half-years, been significant changes to the ways in which we as a force receive and investigate stalking reports – as well as how we support and safeguard victims of these crimes.

However, none of this seeks to minimise the failings that we have seen in this case and the force fully accepts the failures that were part of this most tragic set of circumstances.