Force’s two-year contact with murdered woman under investigation
A force’s contact with a woman in the two years before her murder is being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Danielle Richardson, 24, was found dead in a flat in Manchester on February 13 this year having suffered multiple stab wounds.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) discovered her body while responding to reports of a man who had been seen jumping from the apartment’s second-story window.
The IOPC has launched an investigation as the force was in contact with Ms Richardson for two years before she died.
Michael Marler, 37, has since been charged with the murder and is expecting a court hearing on May 21.
IOPC regional director Amanda Rowe offered her sympathies to Ms Richardson’s family.
She added: “Our focus is purely on the police’s contact with Miss Richardson over the two year period before she died, not the circumstances of her death.
“It’s vital for public confidence that we investigate this fully, but it is not necessarily an indication that the police could have done anything to prevent Miss Richardson’s death.
“We have already started to analyse evidence provided by the police and all officers and staff involved are being treated as witnesses.”
GMP said it would be inappropriate to comment due to the ongoing investigation.