Family of Somerset woman who died in sex offender's home say police 'extended trauma'
Kelly Faiers, 61, died at the address of Richard Scatchard, 70, in Minehead, Somerset, in October 2023
Last updated 22nd Oct 2025
The family of a woman found dead at a sex offender's home say they have lost faith in the justice system, after a watchdog identified police failings in the case.
Kelly Faiers, 61, died at the address of Richard Scatchard, 70, in Minehead, Somerset, on October 15 2023.
Police officers attended the scene and spoke to Scatchard, who had previously been convicted of sexual offences in which he administered drugs to his victims.
An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said officers were concerned about Scatchard's behaviour and considered arresting him but were advised not to by CID.
The following day, a decision was made to treat Ms Faiers's death as murder and officers returned to the property but Scatchard had fled.
His body was found in a caravan near Cleeve Hill in Watchet on April 4 2024.
Ms Faiers's family made a series of complaints about Avon and Somerset Police's conduct, with the IOPC finding the service provided by the force to be "unacceptable" in relation to three of the seven complaints.
Avon and Somerset Police issued an apology to the family and said it had taken their concerns seriously.
In a statement to the PA news agency, the family of Ms Faiers said the force's actions had caused "indescribable and extended trauma".
They added: "Their actions have undermined the foundation on which our belief of the justice system was built and no amount of apologies are likely to rebuild that."
The IOPC found the actions and decisions of three officers fell below expectations but there was no evidence to indicate they had breached police standards of professional behaviour.
Ms Faiers's family thanked the officers who attended Scatchard's property and raised concerns, who they said showed compassion and respect.
"There are genuinely good officers out there on the ground but unfortunately, in this case, this did not appear to replicated by those placed in charge of the operation," they said.
Scatchard and Ms Faiers went out for the evening on October 14 2023.
He called paramedics to his home address at 4.15am on October 15, reporting Ms Faiers was critically ill. She was pronounced dead by paramedics.
Ms Faiers's death was initially considered to be non-suspicious but was investigated as a murder inquiry the following day.
However, her family were not told this for a further 48 hours - which the IOPC found unacceptable.
They were also not informed that Scatchard had previous convictions for sexual offences in which he drugged his victims to abuse them and discovered this information online.
The family said: "The IOPC do not believe there are sufficient grounds for misconduct charges to be brought against the officers involved.
"We genuinely hope they are sorry for their decisions on that night and their subsequent actions that resulted in justice failing to be carried out for our mother, our loss of faith in the judicial system and those in charge of it.
"Richard Scatchard might be dead but this has not resulted in closure for us, only a conclusion to this sad episode of failings."
Following the death of Ms Faiers, Avon and Somerset Police warned Scatchard posed a serious risk to women with whom he formed relationships and that he had been a regular user of dating apps.
Scatchard was wanted on recall to prison, as well as in connection with the murder investigation into Ms Faiers's death.
Derrick Campbell, director of the IOPC, 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."
In a statement, a spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said no conduct or unsatisfactory performance matters were identified relating to any police officers or staff, while no organisational learning was identified.
He said: "We would like to apologise to Kelly Faiers's family for the impact of several of the decisions made by Avon and Somerset Police during the course of our inquiries into her death."
The spokesman said there was a delay to inform the family that her death was being treated as suspicious, in part due to being unable to locate trained family liaison officers to meet them in person.
"Similarly, we recognise the additional distress experienced by Ms Faiers's family at learning of Mr Scatchard's criminal record through an online search and by not disclosing sooner he was at the address and spoken to by officers when police initially attended," he added.
"The IOPC also found the service level was unacceptable in terms of the decision made not to arrest Mr Scatchard at the scene of Ms Faiers's death."
He added it would not be appropriate to comment further on that decision, due to ongoing proceedings by the coroner.