Police review three cases recorded as suicide after Katie Simpson report

By Jonathan McCambridge, PA

Police are to review three cases recorded as suicide following a report into the death of Co Armagh showjumper Katie Simpson.

Police initially believed that Ms Simpson had taken her own life in 2020.

The Police Ombudsman report this week said the initial PSNI investigation into her death was “flawed” and had failed her family.

The 21-year-old from Tynan, died in Altnagelvin Area Hospital almost a week after an incident in Gortnessy Meadows, Lettershandoney, on August 3rd 2020.

It was not until the following year that Jonathan Creswell, the partner of Ms Simpson’s sister, was arrested on suspicion of murder.

The trial of Creswell, 36, for the murder of Ms Simpson, ended in April following his sudden death.

The PSNI has now confirmed it is reviewing a number of other cases.

A statement said: “Following the Katie Simpson case, the Police Service of Northern Ireland is reviewing three cases recorded as suicide.”

The ombudsman’s investigation concluded that the police investigation was hindered by the misleading working assumption adopted by a number of officers that Ms Simpson’s injuries were self-inflicted.

They criticised a “lack of investigative mindset” taking into account that police had received intelligence that Ms Simpson may have been the victim of controlling behaviours, that the attempted suicide was suspicious, that she had not fallen from a horse, and that medical staff had also expressed concerns about the circumstances of her injuries.

Police Ombudsman chief executive Hugh Hume said although this intelligence was viewed and logged by police, it “did not change the direction of the police investigation”.

“There appeared to be a general lack of an investigative mindset which contributed to shortcomings,” he said.