What Happened to Katie Simpson Should Trouble Us All

My trust in policing was pretty much a given growing up, though I appreciate that won’t be true for everyone reading this. For much of my life, I believed that if something truly awful happened to me, a police investigation would pursue the truth with rigour and urgency.

After reading Dr Jan Melia’s review, something foundational in that trust has been broken.

Few stories have unsettled me as much as this one.

In August 2020, Katie was found critically injured after Jonathan Creswell claimed he had discovered her following an attempted hanging. She died in hospital six days later, and police initially treated the case as a suicide attempt before growing concerns about the circumstances surrounding her death.

Society and public bodies failed Katie Simpson on a scale that is staggering and unforgivable. Ultimately, responsibility for finding the truth rested with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Yet Dr Jan Melia found that premature assumptions and complacency undermined the initial investigation, that police “chose to privilege Jonathan Creswell’s account”, and that there was a striking lack of professional curiosity in the face of multiple warning signs.

She also referenced research by Yifat Bitton and Hava Dayan on homicides deliberately disguised as suicide in intimate partner relationships. The study identified six recurring indicators, all of which were present in Katie’s case. The review now recommends that those indicators be incorporated into PSNI sudden death protocols.

The report paints a picture of institutions repeatedly encountering causes for concern that were too often dismissed or viewed in isolation. Over the years, Katie presented to hospital with injuries, with horse-related explanations recurring around how they had been caused. Too often, the easiest and most convenient explanation appears to have been accepted, rather than asking whether these incidents pointed to something more serious.

The man whose account they chose to privilege had previously pleaded guilty to five counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of common assault against former partner Abi Lyle, receiving a six-month prison sentence. The review also notes that his abuse involved extreme violence and non-fatal strangulation. Jonathan Creswell’s standing within the equestrian world appeared remarkably resilient, even after these convictions. It was Abi Lyle who was ostracised and blamed instead.

Institutional misogyny can be difficult to recognise, because it doesn’t always look like open contempt for women. In Katie’s case, it looked like a violent man’s account being repeatedly privileged, the possibility of abuse and coercive control not being taken seriously enough, and people struggling to get their concerns heard.

In 2016, police in Scotland received allegations that Jonathan Creswell had exposed himself to a woman and made unwanted sexual advances towards her. Concerns were also raised about animal abuse, and a witness was reportedly willing to testify, yet no prosecution followed.

When Katie was brought to hospital with serious injuries, police failed to properly search her home or manage it as a serious crime scene. Her car was not properly examined during the initial investigation. Her injuries were not photographed, despite bruising being noted and concerns later raised by medical staff. Crucial evidence was lost from the outset.

The review also highlighted how language can minimise real danger. BBC News has now reported that former detective John Caldwell used these terms during a Police Ombudsman interview, describing Jonathan Creswell as a “bad boy” and a “philanderer”. Terms like that can make abusive men sound roguish rather than violent, encouraging people to underestimate behaviour that often escalates behind closed doors.

In Katie’s case, Jonathan Creswell entered her life when she was still a child, and the review later describes years of sexual abuse, coercive control and financial control, including where she lived and worked, as well as access to her wages and bank accounts.

It is difficult to read how hard people had to fight simply to have the original account of Katie’s death questioned. Repeated concerns were raised and recorded, yet the investigation remained stubbornly attached to a version of events first provided by Jonathan Creswell.

Medical staff documented injuries that should have prompted far greater scrutiny. Paul Lusby repeatedly tried to bring concerns and information to police attention. On one occasion, Dr Jan Melia found that notes from a police meeting with him were later shredded.

Had others not continued to challenge the original narrative, there is a chilling possibility that Katie’s death would still be recorded as suicide.

The review carried out by Dr Jan Melia was forensic, rigorous and finally properly attentive to Katie as a person. It found that the narrative constructed by Jonathan Creswell was initially accepted while Katie’s lived experience was erased from the inquiry, and that police inaction rendered her “invisible in her own murder”.

The institutions involved now have a mountain of trust to rebuild, and that cannot be achieved through carefully worded statements or promises to do better. It will require meaningful reform that closes the gaps predators can exploit and ensures vulnerable people are protected.

Katie Simpson deserved safety in life and justice in death. Our institutions now need to rebuild public trust by proving they can recognise danger, act decisively and be trusted when it matters most.