Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Feminism: chat

Feminism: sex and gender

Original poster

Can we talk about Katie Simpson?

41 replies

norma1980 · 01/08/2024 20:47

  • Groomed from the age of 10 by her much older brother in law
  • Brother in law who had a conviction for strangling a woman.
  • brother in law welcomed back with open arms into show jumping/horse set on his release from jail
  • isolated Katie from her family. She was terrified of him. Katie lived with him and her sister.
  • when he found out she had a boyfriend he raped and beat her to death.
  • presented it as suicide.
  • Katie was in a coma for a week. During this time a nurse and Katie's family raised concerns with police about her injuries not being consistent with hanging. Vaginal bleeding, lack of lesions on neck, injuries which looked like she'd been beaten with a rod.
  • police ignored them. Failed to record injuries.
The brother in law, Jonathan Creswell was well to do and charming. He couldn't possibly be involved in the eyes of the police. -they failed to look into his history where they would've seen he had been convicted of a similar crime. -Katie didn't matter to the police.
  • matter only investigated when file moves to a different police force.
  • brother in law commits suicide 2 days into trial.

Katie was failed from day 1. She didn't matter to the police. Heartbreaking story.

OP posts:
OP posts:
Original poster
norma1980 · 01/08/2024 20:50

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c720k0yl80yo.amp

OP posts:
KeirSpoutsTwaddle · 01/08/2024 20:51

Where did this happen? Sounds awful in so many ways.

HappierTimesAhead · 01/08/2024 20:52

It's horrendous. The police covered it up.

XChrome · 01/08/2024 20:54

That is horrifying. ☹️

Original poster
norma1980 · 01/08/2024 20:54

In Northern Ireland. She was murdered only aged 21 in 2020. Trial was this year but it stopped on day 2 as killer committed suicide. He got bail during time. 3 women were convicted for helping Jonathan cresswell cover up the murder.

The police didn't even bother to photograph her injuries.

They actively resisted looking into her death as murder despite the overwhelming evidence it wasn't suicide.

3 officers are now subject to misconduct proceedings.

OP posts:
Colinthedaxi · 01/08/2024 21:00

Just watching the documentary now, horrific.

RantyMcRanterton · 01/08/2024 21:01

Suxh an awfu thing. Poor Katie

I note Noah Donohoe went missing and was found dead around that time too.

NI police service look very dodgy, don't they.

Original poster
norma1980 · 01/08/2024 21:08

@RantyMcRanterton - poor Noah and his mother.

When you don't matter - the police don't even bother. Here they didn't even pretend.

OP posts:
RantyMcRanterton · 01/08/2024 21:36
Sad

I don't know what to say.

HappierTimesAhead · 01/08/2024 21:42

I have just read about Noah Donohoe and it is so upsetting. His poor, poor mother. They both have such gorgeous smiles and it breaks my heart to be honest.

Waasitwroong · 01/08/2024 21:47

I watched this earlier in the week.

Absolutely terrifying.

Our police are terrible (UK wide) when it comes to domestic abuse. I tried to report and was fobbed off. I persevered and got my abuser on a 'likely to reoffend' register. He strangled me, but at the time of reporting I had blocked it out. To this day I still consider calling the police to add those details on.

Men who strangle one partner are SEVEN times more likely to kill someone.

As stated in the documentary "coercion is not consent" and I cannot highlight that enough.

My situation was clearly not as bad as this case, but they walk amongst us and the police almost make it easy for them.

Original poster
norma1980 · 01/08/2024 23:44

I'm sorry that happened to you @Waasitwroong and that you had to persevere to be heard.

It's a terrifying watch and how he was protected and not probed.

OP posts:
MyTwinklySloth · 02/08/2024 22:33

Surely the sister Christina must have been aware of the abuse?

Original poster
norma1980 · 03/08/2024 07:15

I suspect that she has been subject to the same coercive control Katie was. She was absent from the documentary and rarely mentioned.

I think there were at least 2 women Jonathan Cresswell was regularly sleeping with. The sister must've known.

On the morning he murdered Katie he was meant to meet a woman for sex. This woman later helped him cover up the beating/murder of Katie. This woman was prosecuted. I understand she had loaned him significant amounts of money for years and been sleeping with him for years as other women had.

I did read that on the morning Katie was murdered the sister Christina noticed her partner in bed with her sister at 4.30am. At 6.30am he was in his own bed and this is when she left for work.

The fact she didn't raise merry bell when she saw her partner in bed with her sister (who had actually been raped and beaten) raises red flags.

I understand they lived in a small semi. She had 2 kids, a young girl from the horse set lived with them as well as Katie.

The lodger was also prosecuted for helping Jonathan creswell.

Katie was raped and badly beaten and then driven back to the house where it continued until he murdered her. The women were in the house. They must've seen what was going on. I'm not blaming them as coercion and control is complex but I find it heartbreaking and strange that no one helped Katie.

Perhaps because children are involved they've kept the sister out of it

OP posts:
deeahgwitch · 03/08/2024 09:50

MyTwinklySloth · 02/08/2024 22:33

Surely the sister Christina must have been aware of the abuse?

I couldn't get my head around that.
Living in the same house !
So many questions-
Was she aware that he was abusing her younger sister for years ?
Had the mother no idea all this was going on with her two daughters ?
The older sister left for work on the morning of Katie's murder, was she injured at that point ?
Had there been a row ?
If there had been a row were the neighbours ever questioned ?
People threw a party for him when he got out of jail for the horrendous abuse he subjected a previous partner of his to !!!!
All those who attended should hang their heads in shame.
Why were the police not interested ?
Did religious bigotry come into it ?

Those poor wee children fathered by Cresswell are victims too. 🥲

deeahgwitch · 03/08/2024 09:59

I forgot to add - those 3 women who got suspended sentences for withholding information and perverting the course of justice in connection with the murder.
Helping to cover up Jonathan Cresswell's attack on Katie.
What were they thinking !!!
Has Cresswell's family issued any statements?
His mother minded the children on the morning Jonathan Cresswell started covering his tracks.

MyTwinklySloth · 03/08/2024 17:57

Was the sister ever arrested for being involved? I cant get my head around she saw them in bed during the early hours and then left the house as if that was normal

deeahgwitch · 03/08/2024 20:15

I hadn't realised that the sister saw them in bed - were they together ?
I really wanted the journalist to ask their mother if she had any idea of her daughters' lives with Jonathan Cresswell.
How did he exert such control over at least 6 women ????

FrothyCothy · 03/08/2024 20:22

I couldn’t understand, when it was reported that he had killed himself during the trial, why the fuck he was out of prison and not held on remand given the crimes he was accused of.

deeahgwitch · 03/08/2024 22:35

FrothyCothy · 03/08/2024 20:22

I couldn’t understand, when it was reported that he had killed himself during the trial, why the fuck he was out of prison and not held on remand given the crimes he was accused of.

I 💯agree.
I'm so glad there will be an investigation into the handling of the case.

FranticFrankie · 04/08/2024 12:42

I didn’t know about this case- was it widely reported and I missed it?
Absolutely shocking- poor Katie
Why was he out on bail? With a history of violence towards women??
Her sister saw him in bed ‘with’ Katie??’?
And left for work???!!!
What the …..

deeahgwitch · 04/08/2024 14:56

BBC1 Northern Ireland's Spotlight programme featured it.
Since the programme was broadcast the head of the PSNI said three of the police officers had disciplinary proceedings against them and apologised for the number of shortcomings in the original investigation.

Why was it not taken seriously?
Is there misogyny in the PSNI ?
Is there a sectarian angle ?

Her aunt in the programme said she and her partner went to the police as they had severe misgivings about it being classified as suicide.
Their concerns were ignored Sad

HappierTimesAhead · 05/08/2024 20:24

norma1980 · 03/08/2024 07:15

I suspect that she has been subject to the same coercive control Katie was. She was absent from the documentary and rarely mentioned.

I think there were at least 2 women Jonathan Cresswell was regularly sleeping with. The sister must've known.

On the morning he murdered Katie he was meant to meet a woman for sex. This woman later helped him cover up the beating/murder of Katie. This woman was prosecuted. I understand she had loaned him significant amounts of money for years and been sleeping with him for years as other women had.

I did read that on the morning Katie was murdered the sister Christina noticed her partner in bed with her sister at 4.30am. At 6.30am he was in his own bed and this is when she left for work.

The fact she didn't raise merry bell when she saw her partner in bed with her sister (who had actually been raped and beaten) raises red flags.

I understand they lived in a small semi. She had 2 kids, a young girl from the horse set lived with them as well as Katie.

The lodger was also prosecuted for helping Jonathan creswell.

Katie was raped and badly beaten and then driven back to the house where it continued until he murdered her. The women were in the house. They must've seen what was going on. I'm not blaming them as coercion and control is complex but I find it heartbreaking and strange that no one helped Katie.

Perhaps because children are involved they've kept the sister out of it

This is horrifying. He was a monster.

Original poster
norma1980 · 07/08/2024 15:52

More questions keep arising with this case.

  • No clarity or transparency in this one
  • cover ups continue.
  • information mysteriously lost
  • details on PSNI database about cresswell mysteriously changed - why? Who did cresswell know. Surely amendments can be tracked?!
  • stalling tactics by PSNI to release info. Seemingly the person who submitted info about creswell to the PSNI was then told by PSNI the info didn’t exist. Did the person dream going to the PSNI?! But then the PSNI mysteriously did locate the info months later. Poor filing system? Or something more sinister?

how on earth does joe public get justice when obstacles are out in their way.

https://armaghi.com/news/armagh-news/four-years-since-katie-simpsons-murder-and-questions-still-mounting/248433

thankful to the journalist in this one who keeps on digging.

Hoping the new chief constable of PSNI has integrity and is honest and that the investigation into the officers involved is fair and rigorous [for Katie and her family]

Four years since Katie Simpson’s murder and questions still mounting

August 3, 2024 marked exactly four years since Armagh showjumper Katie Simpson was presented unresponsive and half-naked to an ambulance crew, having purportedly hanged herself.…

https://armaghi.com/news/armagh-news/four-years-since-katie-simpsons-murder-and-questions-still-mounting/248433

OP posts:
Swipe left for the next trending thread