Woman found dead at home of sex offender in Somerset was unlawfully killed, coroner
61-year-old Kelly Faiers from Weston-super-Mare was found at the home of her partner Richard Scatchard in Minhead in October 2023
Last updated 8th Jul 2026
A woman who was found dead in the home of a sex offender after being coerced into taking an excessive amount of sleeping tablets was unlawfully killed, a coroner has concluded.
Kelly Faiers, 61, was found at the home of her partner, Richard Scatchard, 70, in Minehead, Somerset, in October 2023.
They had been together for around six months and had kept the relationship secret, with Ms Faiers not telling her family and Scatchard not informing his probation officer as he was required to do.
Scatchard had convictions for drugging and sexually assaulting women, and was on life licence having been jailed for life.
He told police who arrived at his home that he had not had sex with Ms Faiers.
Somerset Coroner’s Court heard that the first uniformed officers who arrived at Scatchard’s flat wanted to arrest him on suspicion of manslaughter but were overruled by a duty detective sergeant.
Those officers described being “confused, angry and frustrated” at the decision and felt their concerns had been “dismissed”.
By the time police returned to speak with Scatchard the following day, he had disappeared. He was found dead in a caravan in Watchet, Somerset, in April 2024.
Scatchard had a history of sexual offending dating back to the 1980s, including attempted rape, sexual assault, and administrating drugs such as chloroform to obtain sex.
He was jailed for life in 2000 and ordered to serve a minimum of five years and four months before he could be considered for parole.
Scatchard had twice breached his licence conditions, but the seriousness of the breaches did not warrant a recall to prison, the inquest was told.
Senior Somerset coroner Samantha Marsh described Scatchard as “devious, cunning and untruthful” and said he had kept his possession of a second mobile phone secret from the authorities.
In her findings, the coroner said there were only two people who knew what happened in Scatchard’s flat, and neither was alive today.
She said there was no evidence Scatchard had crushed up the sleeping tablets, forced Ms Faiers to take them, or that she was unable to swallow them.
“He would have doubtless known that this event most likely would have meant a recall to prison,” she said.
“He repeatedly engaged in behaviour towards her that was controlling and coercive.
“It’s therefore in my judgment a reasonable inference to find that he has coerced Kelly into taking a significantly higher dose than the therapeutic dose of a sleeping tablet on a background of alcohol consumption.
“Her actions on this stage appear on my assessment of the evidence to have come about solely as a result of Richard Scatchard’s coerced behaviour.”
A post-mortem examination found Ms Faiers, a Bristol Airport worker from Weston-super-Mare, died from the combined effects of alcohol and sleeping tablets.
The coroner recorded a conclusion of unlawful killing, and said: “On the balance of possibilities, this was a controlling and coercive relationship and on the evening prior to her death, Kelly has been coerced into taking an excess quantity of over-the-counter sleeping tablets.
“The sleeping tablets have worked in combination with the alcohol consumed throughout the evening to cause respiratory depression and ultimately cardiac arrest, for which Kelly sadly could not be revived.”
Ms Marsh described the case as “tragic” and said the mother-of-four preferred to be in a bad relationship than alone.
“Deep down I think Kelly knew that this relationship had no future but seeing Richard stopped her from being on her own,” she said.
“Seeing him – a man who was essentially horrible to her – was a better prospect than being alone and that’s really very tragic and sad.
“She would rather have someone than no one at all, even if that someone was unkind and bullied her.
“The very tragic ripple effect of this secrecy is that Kelly’s family – the people who loved and cared about her – were deprived of the opportunity to act and safeguard her.”
Ms Faiers did not know Scatchard’s real identity, and the police and Probation Service did not know he was in a relationship with her.
“I am satisfied however that had they known about her, appropriate steps would have been taken by way of disclosure and discussions to safeguard her,” the coroner said.
“I do not believe that he ever intended her death to be the result. He intended to stupefy and incapacitate her so that he could, for want of a better word, have his way with her.
“Whether or not he actually performed any acts of a sexual nature on or against her cannot be determined on the evidence.”
An inquest into Scatchard’s death will take place on Thursday.