Kerri McAuley: How the 'system failed' Norwich mum murdered by serial abuser Joe Storey
Support services and the criminal justice system failed a mother from Norfolk who was beaten to death by her former partner.
That is the verdict of a damning review into the killing of Kerri McAuley in her Norwich flat in January last year.
Her ex-boyfriend Joe Storey was jailed for life for what a judge called "one of the worst cases of domestic violence" ever to come before the courts.
The 27-year-old battered the mother-of-two to death, inflicting 19 injuries, before taking a "blood-smeared selfie".
He had a history of domestic abuse and probation, support and prosecution services were all aware of him as an "extreme bully of vulnerable women".
The domestic homicide review, carried out by the Norfolk County Community Safety Partnership, reveals that in 2008 probation services recorded that Storey had "the capacity to cause fatal harm".
This was a risk assessment which should have been shared with other agencies but it was not, according to the review.
The National Probation Service said it was "truly sorry" that the "management of this case was below standard".
Failings included an "over-reliance on telephone contact", "missed opportunities to share information" and "not fully reviewing the offender's risk management plan following critical incidents".
NPS says it has recruited 20 new trainee probation officers in Norfolk and Suffolk and that it has worked "extremely hard to improve immediate staffing levels".
The review details Storey's long history of violence against six former girlfriends, which included fracturing one ex-partner's skull and holding a breadknife to her throat.
During Storey's relationship with Kerri, there were several attacks but her reluctance to give evidence against him meant a court case in 2016 was halted.
The Crown Prosecution Service did obtain a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting her - but they were sending text messages to each other even during the case.
Organisations united in their claims for more to be done to stamp out domestic abuse - and to raise awareness of how to identify and report it.
The review has made a series of recommendations including training A&E staff in how to deal with incidents of domestic abuse and improving information sharing between agencies.
It also says that "where there is evidence regarding violent or serious harmful offending, this should automatically be considered as an aggravating factor and longer-term prison sentences should follow".
Norfolk County Council Children's Services department and Norfolk Police also said they had made changes and learned lessons from the case.
Domestic violence: What help is available?
Women’s Aid defines domestic abuse as an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence, in the majority of cases by a partner or ex-partner, but also by a family member or carer. It is very common. In the vast majority of cases it is experienced by women and is perpetrated by men.
Domestic abuse can include, but is not limited to, the following:
Coercive control (a pattern of intimidation, degradation, isolation and control with the use or threat of physical or sexual violence)
Psychological and/or emotional abuse
Physical abuse
Sexual abuse
Financial abuse
Harassment
Stalking
For more information on domestic violence and ways to get help, visit the Refuge, Women's Aid and Leeway websites.