Vulnerable woman called 999 twice before being bludgeoned to death by neighbour... but police didn't bother to turn up

Published 28th Jan 2010

A terrified woman made two 999 calls before she was battered to death, but police were too busy to respond, a damning report said yesterday.

Joanne Butler, who had mental problems, was attacked by her neighbour Sean Wilson and his 13-year-old son, who described her as the 'psycho woman' in the flat above.

They used a sock filled with rocks to beat her about the head before butchering her with an axe.

Miss Butler's call was graded top priority as possible domestic violence after an operator heard somebody scream 'you b******' in the background, the report found.

Ten minutes later, she called again but the line went dead after the BT operator heard 'noises and a scream'.

The body of Miss Butler, 38, was discovered in her burnt out flat hours later.

The police force involved, Leicestershire, was the same one criticised last year after its officers missed dozens of opportunities to tackle yobs who drove Fiona Pilkington to kill herself and her teenage daughter.

After the first 999 call, the details were passed to the police controllers who deploy officers. But despite repeated requests from them, no officers were available to attend her flat.

Her second call was logged as a 'duplicate incident' to the first and then closed.

Yesterday's report also revealed that Wilson also called 999 within minutes of his victim.

Wilson, a labourer, was told to call back later if he was still having problems with the woman. Miss Butler suffered from psychotic problems and depression.

Fiona Pilkington, 38, and her daughter Francecca Hardwick, 18, were found in a blazing car after suffering years of abuse from a gang of youths at their home in nearby Barwell just a year later

Yesterday's details of the police failings were revealed in a report published by East Midlands Strategic Health Authority.

The report - part of a wider investigation into the care provided by mental health workers to Miss Butler - disclosed a previously confidential review conducted by Leicestershire Constabulary into the case. gation into the care provided by mental health workers to Miss Butler - disclosed a previously confidential review conducted by Leicestershire Constabulary into the case.

Police had dealt with Miss Butler 20 times in the ten months before she died. Wilson, now 41, was also known to them as a violent alcoholic who once held a hacksaw to his exwife's throat.

But despite that, they were unable to send an officer to their flats in Earl Shilton, Leicestershire, because they were all busy.

The police's internal report admitted: 'The reviewing officer acknowledges that attendance by the police as a result of these calls had the potential to defuse the situation and possibly resolve the problems.'

It said an officer should have been sent out immediately as it was force policy to investigate incidents of domestic violence. Wilson was jailed for life in November 2006 for the killing in January that year.

His son Ashlea, who can be named after an Appeal Court ruling, was ordered to be detained for at least nine years.

Yesterday Gordon Fraser, of Leicestershire police, said: 'We have radically changed our approach to managing public calls for assistance to one which tailors our service to the needs and wishes of each caller.'

The investigation into the case has also called for sweeping changes to improve the care provided by Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. Miss Butler's parents, Garry, 64, and Pauline, 62, of Markfield, Leicestershire, said they were planning to take legal action over the authorities' handling of the case.

The report follows an inquest last September which heard how Fiona Pilkington, from nearby Barwell, had suffered a decade of abuse from yobs who targeted the family over her daughter Francecca's mental disability.

It led Miss Pilkington, 38, to set light to her car while she sat inside with her 18-year-old daughter.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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