source: The Guardian
published: 26 September 2014
Police failed a teenage girl who was stabbed more than 60 times by her jealous and controlling ex-boyfriend by not taking seriously reports by her family about their worries, an inquest has concluded.
Arsema Dawit was 15 when Thomas Nugusse killed her at a block of flats in Waterloo, central London, in June 2008.
Her family had reported Nugusse to the police about five weeks before she died, saying he had threatened to assault and kill her, but they did not feel their concerns were taken seriously enough.
A jury at Southwark coroner’s court criticised the police investigation, saying the family’s complaints were not treated with sufficient urgency because they were inadequately recorded.
Returning the jury’s verdict, its spokeswoman said: “The principal offence was recorded as ABH and the investigation followed this line on inquiry.
“Had the principal offence been recorded and verified as a threat to kill, a risk assessment would have been carried out, which would have recognised and prioritised the threat to kill as urgent.”
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