Force slammed over stalker murder (From Bournemouth Echo)

Force slammed over stalker murder

3:16am Thursday 11th March 2010 in

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The police watchdog has delivered a damning report after finding "individual and systemic" failures in one force following the murder of a woman by her stalker, dubbed the Facebook Fugitive.

George Appleton, 40, who prowled the internet for women, killed Clare Wood, 36, when she broke off their relationship after meeting on Facebook.

In one incident after Miss Wood called police about him banging on her door, the response from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was delayed on 26 occasions because of a lack of available police patrols and officers only turned up more than 24 hours later.

In the months before her murder Miss Wood had contacted GMP alleging Appleton had caused criminal damage, harassed, threatened to kill and sexually assaulted her.

Despite the repeated complaints she was let down by GMP, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) ruled following an investigation.

Police had launched a nationwide manhunt after the body of Miss Wood, the mother of a ten-year-old girl, was found strangled in bed at her home in Salford on February 6 last year.

Appleton was found hanged in a derelict pub, also in Salford, five days later.

Terry Sweeney, assistant chief constable of GMP, said: "Clare's death was a tragedy and our thoughts and sympathies remain with her family and friends. The IPCC investigation found that there were some failings on GMP's part, but those failings could not have prevented her death.

"The report has found that there were some flaws in our intelligence systems and it is clear that some officers need to learn more about how to deal with the extremely complex issue of risk assessing vulnerable people.

"We're sorry about those failings and are doing what we can to make changes."