The household of Sherrie Milnes, a 51-year-old mother-of-five, has claimed that police missed a possibility to prevent her tragic death. Milnes was found useless in her Weymouth flat on April 1, 2021, after being killed by her former partner, Steven Doughty, aged fifty four. Doughty was discovered dead at his residence on the identical day, having taken his personal life. Authentic heard that Milnes died from neck compression and multiple stab wounds. Her family described her as a person who was loved by everyone, with a ardour for life and a wicked sense of humour.
The day earlier than her dying, Milnes had contacted the police to report that Doughty was harassing her. Her household expressed their perception that call handlers failed to note phrases that should have raised the log to a better precedence. They argued that if the police had supplied “advice” to Doughty, the devastating consequence might need been avoided. Milnes, a healthcare assistant, had separated from Doughty three times earlier than finally leaving him on February 25, 2021, as a outcome of a new relationship.
“Steve would at all times pursue Sherrie to get her again, utilizing cellphone calls, text messages, sending flowers and gifts,” the family’s statement mentioned.
Holly, Milnes’s daughter, revealed that Doughty had constantly messaged her mom and had been blocked on social media. She additionally observed him sitting in his automotive outside their residence, checking if her mom had gone to work. Holly mentioned that Doughty had contacted Samaritans, as he was struggling to deal with the breakup. A friend of Doughty’s additionally testified that he was “broken and distraught.”
Detective Sergeant Richard Winn from Dorset Police said that CCTV footage confirmed Doughty coming into Milnes’s house on the day she died and spending around an hour there. Blood analysis from Doughty’s clothes indicated he had been kneeling over her when she was stabbed. The inquest heard that he had searched the web for suicide strategies and left a note “asking for forgiveness” for the “s***storm I even have caused.”
Winn stated that if Doughty had not died, he would have been charged with homicide. “I assume the intention was to get back together with Sherrie in his mindset and, as a end result of it was established that couldn’t happen, then if Steve couldn’t be in a relationship with Sherrie then no one else might both,” he explained..