requests for information by Julia‘s family.
4.14 In chapter 13 - conclusions 2002-2005 - we have drawn together the key conclusions from our review of the involvement of agencies and professionals in the period 2002- 2005.
We have also reflected on the provision of Domestic Violence Services in West Berkshire in 2008 and identified the overarching themes that we consider need to inform future service development and provision from the Review.
4.15 We recognise that there have been significant developments in local and national policy as well as local services in relation to domestic violence and abuse which have led to changes and improvements in the provision of the services to victims, their children and families beyond those that existed in 2002/2003. The recommendations we have identified are intended to help services build on those developments.
5. Background prior to September 2002
5.1 The information included in this section was provided by Julia‘s family and friends.
5.2 Julia was born on 17 January 1956 and Alan on 20 January 1955. They met whilst Alan was at university and Julia was at teacher training college in Southampton and they were married on 26 July 1980.
5.3 In September 2002 their children, C19 and William, were aged 18 and 15. William was born on 13 October 1986. All the evidence made available to us portrays them as two highly successful and talented children. William has been described as a loving son, a popular young man, academically able, a fine sportsman and a talented musician.
5.4 It is apparent from the information that we have received from members of the family and their friends, that Julia and Alan Pemberton and their two children were ostensibly the ‗perfect family‘. In 1997 Julia, Alan, C19 and William moved into an old house with four acres of land on Slanting Hill, a road in the village of Hermitage, near Newbury, West Berkshire. Over two years they built a large multi-storey detached house which they named
‗Old Hallowes‘; the house was staggered over six levels on a steep slope backing on to woodland.
5.5 Julia has been described to us as kind, loving and attentive, held in high regard by her family, friends and colleagues. She was employed as a part- time health visitor by Newbury and Community PCT and was the health visitor representative on the local Domestic Violence Forum. Julia contributed in 2001 to a leaflet on domestic violence for primary care staff.
5.6 Alan has been described36 as a father who loved his children and demonstrated his affection for them by investing time and money in their education and interests. He was a chartered accountant, a successful businessman and managing director of a financial management company.
5.7 We were told that in the summer of 2002 Julia had described to members of her family and a close friend, for the first time, how unhappy her marriage had been and that Alan‘s behaviour was unpredictable, demanding and controlling.37 Julia had hoped to hold their marriage together until William reached eighteen. She had tried to leave previously38 but Alan‘s behaviour would fluctuate between threatening and contrite; if he could not have her nobody else would. Julia told them that she believed that meant Alan would kill her, particularly as he had made death threats before.
5.8 On 18 July 2002 Julia found a breast lump which she learnt on 24 July was cancer. On 1 August she had a mastectomy.
5.9 Julia described in her Affidavit39 that a few days after her return from hospital Alan had become ‗very cold‟ and had not spoken to her for seventeen days. She said that on 29 August when she had returned home from visiting a close friend, 40 Alan had been angry with her and accused her of ignoring him; he had shouted and screamed at her in a very threatening manner. Alan had then become very upset, crying and wanting to know where he stood and Julia told him that she wanted time to think.
5.10 On 30 August while Alan was away with William and C19 for a few days with family friends Julia told her brother41 (C5) that she had decided to seek a separation and how frightened she was about Alan‘s likely reaction.
37 „Coercive control is a model of abuse that attempts to encompass the range of strategies employed to dominate individual women in personal life.‟ Coercive Control: How men entrap women in personal life– Evan Stark: Oxford University Press 2007
38 In her Affidavit 17/9/02 Julia refers to such an incident when her children were aged 7 and 5; C5 information to PDHR
39 Affidavit JP 17/09/02 and letter from C13 to PDHR
40 Affidavit JP 17/09/02
41 C5 information to PDHR
6. September 1 – 30, 2002 Summary of events
3 September
On his return home from holiday Julia told Alan her feelings and that their marriage was over;
in her subsequent Affidavit42 Julia stated that Alan had been tearful, had begged forgiveness and admitted that he was „evil‟. Julia told him that it was too late; they talked in a rational way about a separation.
Over the next few days Alan told C8 that Julia wanted a separation and admitted to another friend that he knew that whilst he had been a good father that he had been a ‗terrible‘
husband and wanted a chance to rectify this.43 From 4 to 10 September
Julia described how Alan had been ‗very civilised‟.44 7September
Alan reported to the police that a mountain bike had been stolen and on 9 September two officers made a visit to Old Hallowes.45
11 September
According to Julia‘s Affidavit Alan‘s behaviour became more and more aggressive. He told Julia that he did not want the relationship to end and that she could not walk out.46 She had been very scared by his verbally aggressive behaviour. Alan had kept a record of what she had said on reams of paper in his study. Julia asked him to remove remarks he had written on a
42 Affidavit JP 17/09/02 - application in relation to non- molestation and occupation orders
43 C8 information to PDHR
44 JP Affidavit 17/09/02
45 Information to PDHR from TVP
whiteboard in the study because they might alarm William and C19, they included references to ‗she says she hates me‟ and ‗Alan is evil‘.47 He had also left on his desk a piece of paper on which he had written ‗911‟.
12 September
Julia described in her Affidavit how Alan had acted as if nothing was wrong.48 13 September
Julia stated in her Affidavit that on the night of 13 September before going on a business trip to Spain Alan had presented her with an ultimatum. He had told her she was to give them a chance to live as man and wife for a specified time, at the end of which he would decide if it was working or not, or:
‗This is fact. I will take my life. I will take your life. You are not going to mess up my life. You can‟t do this to me.‟
Julia stated that she had shouted out: „I can‟t believe that you are threatening to murder me‟ and had asked Alan how C19 and William would cope. Alan replied, „They‟ll survive.‟ 49
When Alan briefly left Old Hallowes Julia had tried without success to contact her brother (C5). Julia described how terrified she was she might die that night; she had gone to the separate bedroom she had occupied since her mastectomy.
Subsequently Alan admitted 50 he had decided the night before what he was going to say to Julia and the threat to kill her had not been said in the heat of the moment.
47 JP Affidavit 17/09/02
48 JP Affidavit 17/09/02
49 JP Affidavit 17/09/02
50 Written information to PDHR from C11
14 September – Julia’s first contact with TVP (C&C log)
At about 6.30am51 Julia had drifted off to sleep and woken up to find Alan stroking her face – Julia stated in her Affidavit that she had thought that he was going to strangle her.52 Pretending at first to be asleep she had then made out that she needed to go to the toilet and left the room.
When Alan left the house telling her that he loved her, she was not sure whether he was in fact going to Spain or that he would return to kill her.53
Alan had left a card on her pillow, messages on the whiteboard in the study and both their wills on the desk with instructions for the children in the event of his own or Julia‘s death.54
Julia telephoned C3 one of her sisters and described how frightened she had been by Alan‘s threat to kill her. Julia also telephoned her brother (C5) in great distress; she described Alan‘s manner as cold, unemotional and chilling and that she was in no doubt that he would kill her.55 C5 drove immediately to Old Hallowes. Julia told him that while Alan had been so close she had been petrified and unable to call for help or to leave the house as only C19 was with her and she felt William would be vulnerable.
Julia also telephoned her friend C12 who described how she was incoherent and paralysed with fear; C12 drove down immediately to the house from London.56
At 1644hrs57 C5 telephoned the police and reported that Alan had threatened to kill Julia who was petrified; he feared for the safety of his sister. He said William and C19 were also at the house frightened by what Alan had said to Julia.
51 JP Affidavit 17/09/02
52 During the review it was suggested to the panel that Alan attempted to strangle Julia; and the panel have received conflicting evidence from different people about how Julia described the incident.
However in her Affidavit Julia stated that she thought that he was going to strangle her.
53 JP Affidavit 17/09/02
54 JP Affidavit 17/09/02
55 Information from C3 & C4, C5, Statement (1) C5 to PDHR
56 Information from C12 to PDHR
57 TVP C&C log: URN 1364 for information regarding calls to TVP made on 14/09/02 & 15/09/02; URN is the Unique Reference Number given to a ‗call for service‘ that is logged on the Thames Valley
C5 asked the police to visit Old Hallowes58 and to ‗triangulate‘ Alan‘s mobile phone because the family were uncertain of his whereabouts.59
At 1701hrs C5 stressed that his sister had managed to find the courage to report this to the police and action should be taken.60
At 1732hrs C5 was advised that the circumstances at this time were unlikely to justify an attempt to locate Alan by means of auto-triangulation of his mobile phone. It was noted in the Command and Control log (C&C log) for URN 1364 that Julia was undecided as to whether she wished to make a complaint; at 1741hrs Julia and her brother are recorded as wanting to be seen about domestic violence and that C5 had found two air rifles. At 2029 hours he called the police station again to check that however late, a visit would be made.
At 2326hrs, Sgt A telephoned to apologise for the delay and explained that the day shift would visit on the Sunday morning; if this was not possible before 1600hrs he said he would attend personally.
During the weekend Julia, William, C19 and C5 had slept in the same room; at one point C5 and William slept in the hall behind the front door in case Alan returned to prevent him from gaining entry to the house.61
15 September – Julia’s second contact with TVP (C&C log)
At 0915hrs on the Sunday morning the commitment to respond to Julia‘s request for help was deferred by officers to 1600hrs when Sgt A was due to come on duty.
At 1646hrs it was recorded on the C&C log that Sgt A had been unable to attend because of other commitments and he advised Julia‘s brother C5 at 1658hrs. C5 was recorded as having
tasking system used by Thames Valley Police to manage calls for service. Each commitment is logged as an incident.
58 C5 statement (1)to PDHR
59 TVP information to PDHR „this was not possible as TVP could not meet the RIPA threshold‟
60 Information from TVP C&C log
61 C5, C12 & C16 information and C5 Statement(1) to PDHR
asked for police to visit before 2200hrs and failing that he had said Julia would phone on Monday after she had seen a solicitor about an injunction.
At 1755hrs Julia and C5 called the police again wanting to see a police officer to make a statement; C5 was adamant about pressing charges as his sister had received text messages from Alan that evening, and that C5 believed Alan might be coming to the house that evening.
The police gave advice about calling 999 if Alan turned up.
At 1920hrs it was recorded that the local beat officer was committed that evening taking other statements.
At 1929hrs, Sgt A was recorded as having spoken to Julia who had said that at no time had she been assaulted; she had decided to leave her husband who was away until 19September; on the 16 September she would be seeking solicitor‘s advice about an injunction and was fine with that arrangement.
Sgt A advised C5 that he could not make allegations on behalf of his sister and that reports had to come from Julia. Sgt A noted on the log that although C5 might contact police again that evening ‗incidents do not need to be dealt with fast time.‟62 Sgt A also asked for the URN to be flagged for the Domestic Violence Unit (DVU).
At 2147hrs C5 spoke to a Police Enquiry Centre (PEC) Operator and challenged what had been recorded at 1929hrs by Sgt A concerning his conversation with Julia. The same PEC operator spoke to Julia who was insistent on seeing an officer and stated that Sgt A‘s comments about her previous conversation with him (see detail above at 1929hrs) were incorrect.63 C5 came back on the phone and confirmed with the PEC Operator that he was expecting police to attend by 2200hrs.
At 2154hrs it was recorded on the C & C log that in a conversation with Sgt A, Julia changed her mind again about police attendance and she would contact the DVU on her return from the solicitor the following day. C5 was recorded as complaining about the lack of police assistance and requested attendance so that they would know the location of Old Hallowes;
62 TVP C&C log
he was told about the police knowledge of the area. At 2156hrs it was recorded that C5 and Julia said they were „leaving it‟ and that they would contact the DVU in the morning.
16 September – Julia’s third contact with TVP; her first meeting with the Domestic Violence Coordinator (DVC records)
On Monday 16 September, Julia and C5 met with the Domestic Violence Coordinator (DVC) at Newbury Police Station. The DVC opened a domestic violence file and noted „Years of abuse.
Told of end of marriage. A threatened to kill J.‟64 The DVC recorded on the Advice Form using a check list that she had discussed a number of options with Julia; changing her telephone number; incoming caller ID barring; solicitors including injunctions and advice concerning possessions, housing, financial matters and children; support via Berkshire Women‘s Aid and victim support; a community alarm; notification in an emergency; flagging the address;
moving house; counselling; visiting her GP; criminal proceedings and positive intervention in the event that police were called to Old Hallowes. On the checklist the DVC noted „none‟
against the item ‗Injuries‟ and that Julia declined support from Berkshire Women‘s Aid and the installation of a community alarm.65
The DVC advised Julia to call 999 if she was at all in fear. 66
The DVC arranged an urgent appointment for Julia with a local law firm and provided a written report to the solicitor„to quantify getting a power of arrest on an injunction.‟67 She wrote:
„Alan‟s mood swings said to last a few days- sometimes as much as 10 days. Julia has said the only way she can bring these mood swings to an end is to offer herself to him. She has also said that on several occasions she has not been a willing sexual- partner with him…, I feel it is sexual abuse. This in itself is I feel akin to violence towards an individual.‟68
64 TVP DVC file
65 DVC Witness Statement to Inquest 02/03/04
66 DVC Witness Statement to Inquest 02/03/04
67 TVP DVC Witness Statement to Inquest 02/03/04
68 TVP DVC report to solicitor 16/09/02
In the letter the DVC also referred to Alan‘s threat to kill Julia:
‗In all my experience as a DVC I have not come across such a cruel act. As a result of our conversation I have ‟flagged‟ Julia‟s address, to the effect that any incidents from or to the house are to be treated urgently. This does not happen to every person I talk to. I have done this as I believe the perceived threat level to Julia has escalated.‟
On the flagging application69 the DVC noted that there were threats to kill the occupant, Julia Pemberton by her husband Alan; there were two children aged 18 and 15 also at the address;
Julia had suffered years of emotional, financial and sexual abuse; the perceived level of threat had escalated during the previous ten days and that after Julia had told Alan that the marriage was finished, he had said he would kill her and then himself. The DVC also noted that „Any calls even silent 999 calls to be treated as urgent. Perceived threat level to victim very high. Positive intervention required.‟
At 1213hrs URN1364 for the 13 and 14September, was closed after Julia‘s meeting with the DVC at Newbury Police station.
URN 871 was created by the DVC as an interim flagging system and was closed at 1526hrs. 70
Julia met with a solicitor to complete an affidavit in relation to an application for a non- molestation and occupation order.71 In her Affidavit she described the events of the 13 September and the problems in her marriage; the trigger for Alan‘s outbursts had been if she refused sexual intercourse when Alan would „turn into a state of cold seething anger. He would then move into the spare room.‘ She stated that he would take her credit cards away which left her in a position where she was unable to buy food or petrol „I was completely at his mercy.‟ The situation would only be resolved when Julia said sorry, begged forgiveness and resumed sexual relations. In relation to Alan‘s threat to kill her she stated that:
69 TVP C&C SIG Flagging Application 16/09/02
70 TVP Information to PDHR this was to address the delay in obtaining a full SIG flag attached to a location and would be available to any operator (using the correct code) should an incident occur at the address
‗I believe he has the potential to kill me. He has said that if ever I try to leave him he will kill me. He is ruthless and vengeful in business and always has to win at any cost. Nobody can cross him.‟
On her return from seeing the solicitor Julia collected William from a friend‘s house and was described as very distraught saying Alan was trying to kill her.72
Later at 2109hrs,73 C5 contacted the police from a telephone call box to report a suspicious Ford Mondeo near to Old Hallowes. The police completed an unsuccessful area search and made one call to C5. In the URN it was noted „unfortunately wrong number called back.‟ 74 At
Later at 2109hrs,73 C5 contacted the police from a telephone call box to report a suspicious Ford Mondeo near to Old Hallowes. The police completed an unsuccessful area search and made one call to C5. In the URN it was noted „unfortunately wrong number called back.‟ 74 At