Jon Boutcher, the PSNI chief constable, has acknowledged that there were significant errors in the preliminary police investigation into the death of equestrienne Katie Simpson. Coming under scrutiny by the Northern Ireland Policing Board, his supervisory authority, Boutcher indicated plans to meet with Simpson’s family to address the investigation’s shortcomings.
Katie, a resident of Tynan, Co Armagh, sadly passed away in hospital after an incident at Gortnessy Meadows, Lettershandoney, on August 3rd, 2020, a week prior. Initially, her death was assumed by law enforcement to be a suicide.
However, the court proceedings for Jonathan Creswell, who had been charged with Katie’s rape and murder, were abruptly concluded in April due to his unexpected death. Boutcher voiced his deep shock at the crime, acknowledging the immense pain inflicted on Katie’s family, exacerbated by the investigation’s poor handling.
He emphasised that the meeting with the family is imminent, and he is keen to discuss the investigation’s shortcomings. Boutcher explained that he was circumscribed regarding the details he could divulge due to an awaited Police Ombudsman report.
However, he admitted, “From the outset, it’s evident we made mistakes. There were significant deficiencies in our initial investigation. We placed excessive reliance on the lack of medical evidence at the time Katie was first hospitalised and the forensic post-mortem conducted on August 11th, 2020.” He conceded that the police’s initial efforts were not as thorough or proactive as they should have been, in response to the worries raised.
My regret for the organisation’s inability to detect Creswell’s past grave and connected criminal offenses is deep. This goes beyond the individual acts of the officers and is rather about our organisation’s failure to properly address the matter. I convey my sincerest apologies to the victim’s family.
Mr. Boutcher expressed that his unease is not solely based on the actions of the PSNI towards Ms. Simpson’s demise. It’s about how an individual, known now to have controlled and manipulated at an alarmingly extensive level, and having a history of such horrible and comparable crime, managed to warrant acceptance in the society. The troubling part is that nobody came forward to report him and he ended up becoming somewhat of a representative figure, unopposed in the society. – PA