IOPC investigation finds Avon and Somerset Police service was unacceptable following failings in the response to Kelly Faiers’ death

An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) complaints investigation has found the level of service provided to the family of Kelly Faiers was unacceptable, after we determined there were failings in the force’s response to her death.

Ms Faiers, died at a property in Minehead, Somerset, in October 2023, where Richard Scatchard, a convicted sex offender, lived. After Ms Faiers’ death, he was subject to a recall to prison for a breach of his probation conditions.

The family of Ms Faiers made several complaints in relation to the decisions and actions taken by Avon and Somerset Police immediately after she died. Our investigation into those complaints began in January 2024 and concluded in September 2025. We found the service provided by the force to be unacceptable in relation to three out of the seven complaints made.

Ms Faiers became critically ill in the early hours of Sunday 15 October and Mr Scatchard called for an ambulance. Sadly, Ms Faiers was pronounced dead, following the arrival of paramedics. Avon and Somerset Police attended and spoke with Mr Scatchard before leaving.

The family were concerned that Mr Scatchard was not questioned at that time despite his previous convictions. Officers who spoke to him said they had concerns about his behaviour and had considered arresting him, but they were advised by CID not to and that Ms Faiers’ death should not be treated as suspicious.

The next day, a decision was made to treat Ms Faiers’ death as a murder enquiry but when officers returned, he had left the property. We determined that the service provided to the family was unacceptable.

Two further complaints where we found police provided an unacceptable level of service related to failings in communications. Ms Faiers’ family were not told for nine days that Mr Scatchard had been at the property at the time of Ms Faiers’ death. We also found it unacceptable the force delayed telling Ms Faiers’ relatives they were treating her death as suspicious. They were only told the day after a missing person appeal had been issued for Mr Scatchard on 17 October. Mr Scatchard’s name was later released to media before the family were notified of either his full name or his offending history.

IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the family of Kelly Faiers for their loss.

“Avon and Somerset Police could and should have done better in the tragic circumstances of this case. We found the service provided by the force was unacceptable regarding three individual officers, whose actions and decisions fell below expectations. While we did not find any evidence to indicate they may have breached police standards of professional behaviour, justifying disciplinary proceedings, we decided the officers should reflect and learn from the failings we identified and they will undergo the reflective practice review process (RPRP).”

During our investigation, we obtained statements from family members, police officers and staff. We examined relevant incident logs and calls, as well as examining relevant policies and procedures. We did not identify any organisational learning.