"Lessons to be learned" following review into Gloucester double domestic murder
Laura and her daughter Ella were murdered by Laura's partner in 2018
Last updated 19th Jan 2022
A review into a domestic double murder of a mother and daughter in Gloucester has set out what "lessons can be learned".
31-year-old Laura Mortimer and 11-year-old Ella Dalby were murdered by Laura's partner in May 2018.
Christopher Boon was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 29 years.
A Joint Domestic Homicide Review and a Serious Case Review was commissioned by The Gloucester City Community Safety Partnership to scrutinise the "missed opportunities" which may have prevented their deaths.
It's after several occasions where agencies missed the signs to thoroughly follow up on incidents involving domestic abuse.
An action plan has been created and agencies will be held to account by Safer Gloucestershire and the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership to ensure the learning is implemented countywide.
Progress has already been made with this action plan, demonstrating how the learning from this case is creating change in the local approach to domestic abuse.
What was learned?
- Recognising the need to support family and friends of survivors of domestic abuse to support them in understanding how to safely address domestic abuse
- The importance of the voice on the child in safeguarding decisions
- The importance of considering the impact of the introduction of a step-parent and his/her background into a child’s life
- The importance for GPs, or any health professional, to know who has parental responsibility for a child, as well as the other adults who play a key role in that child’s life e.g. step-parents
- The need for all services to ensure they have adequate policy, training and record-keeping procedures to adequately address domestic abuse
- The ability for all front line professionals to confidently speak to survivors of domestic abuse about their situation despite any denial or minimisation and to understand where these barriers come from and to address domestic abuse beyond basic inquiry
- For strategic boards for domestic abuse, safeguarding and health and wellbeing to work together to adequately resource and support multi-agency and best practice in relation to domestic abuse.
Prevention for the future
The review was independently chaired by Nicole Jacobs, who at the time of the review was an associate of Standing Together Against Domestic Violence and is now the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales.
It provides valuable learning to help agencies develop their response to domestic abuse and includes valuable input from the family of Laura and Ella.
The Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership (GSCP) Independent Scrutineer, Kevin Crompton, said: “Serious Case reviews are about learning and I want to particularly thank the family of Ella and Laura for their involvement in the review and the valuable role they have played in identifying learning for safeguarding agencies.
"Whilst there is no doubt who was responsible for their untimely deaths it is clear that the family believe agencies might have acted differently at times and the review acknowledges there is learning for agencies.
"The review therefore makes recommendations about the training of key staff with a focus on how we can better support those in this situation as leaving even an abusive relationship is hard to do.
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, said: "As Commissioner I am determined to play my part in ensuring lessons are learned and one of my office’s top priorities is to establish an oversight mechanism for domestic homicide reviews. This will be a key focus for my team over the next 18 months.
"Safer Gloucestershire and the DHR panel should be commended for recognising the importance of involving families in domestic homicide reviews and understanding their views. These can never be comfortable conversations, but they are essential for change.