Murdered mum and baby ‘failed’ by police officers Misconduct rulings recorded against pair after killer ‘dangerous beyond measure’ strangled ex-girlfriend and 7-month-old
MISCONDUCT rulings have been recorded against two West Midlands Police officers after a thug recently freed from jail “executed” his ex-girlfriend and her baby as they slept.
A disciplinary hearing found an unidentified sergeant and constable failed to assess the risk that Wesley Williams posed to Yvonne Walsh and her children when the pair began a relationship. The officers failed to contact or visit her and did not inform social services.
Williams, who had just served a five-year sentence for wounding, murdered Ms Walsh and sevenmonth-old Harrison, known as Harry, after she broke off their relationship, having refused his marriage proposal.
The mother and child were found dead at their home in Chells Grove, Billesley, on June 2, 2013.
Williams, then aged 29, strangled the pair before changing his Facebook status to “single”.
He wrote: “Sometimes we just have to do things we shouldn’t – I am sorry it had to come to this.”
Hours after the double killing, Williams was also caught on CCTV laughing and high-fiving a flatmate at a McDonald’s restaurant.
He was jailed for life, and ordered to serve at least 29 years, in December 2013 after he admitted murder charges. Passing sentence, a judge described the cannabis user as “clearly evil and dangerous beyond measure”.
Now a West Midlands Police hearing has concluded that the two officers’ actions amounted to miscon- duct. There was also a second misconduct finding against the Pc for not making adequate and/or prompt enquiries to establish Williams’ location or establishing promptly the identity of his new partner; and failing to ensure the safeguarding of two ex-partners.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission, which re- leased the details, said Williams was being managed under arrangements designed to protect the public from sexual or violent offenders after his release from the wounding sentence.
West Midlands Police were involved in establishing his whereabouts and whether he was in a relationship, along with other safeguarding issues.
After the IPCC’s own investigation ended in 2015, the force agreed the two officers had a case to answer for gross misconduct.
But, at a hearing last Friday, a West Midlands Police panel found the facts proven amounted only to misconduct. The officers will face no further action.
The IPCC said the force had improved its offender management by including the watchdog’s recommendations arising from the tragedy.
Its commissioner for the West Midlands, Derrick Campbell, said: “This was an extremely harrowing case involving the awful deaths of a mother and her young child.
“I would like to again express my sympathy to the family of Yvonne Walsh and hope the completion of our investigation answered some of their questions and brought some further measure of closure.
“We are satisfied that our recommendations for organisational improvement either have been or are being addressed.”