A “troubled” police force have apologised for conducting a flawed investigation after taking 15 years to make an arrest during an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the suicide of a female mental health patient.
The Guardian has learned that Cumbria police have arrested a former trainee male nurse as part of their investigation, which has been running since 2002, into the death of Alison Bell, 25. The force are already under pressure over their mishandling of an investigation into the death of 13-month-old Poppi Worthington in 2012.
Bell was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in the 1980s. She was admitted to the Garlands clinic in Carlisle – now known as the Carleton clinic.
After an investigation, the Cumbria Mental Health and Learning Disabilities trust accepted that a relationship began with a member of staff and continued after she was discharged. She became pregnant, then had a termination and three years later killed herself in 1991.
Years after her death, Bell’s brother Tom began a complaint process against the trust about the lack of disciplinary action taken against the staff member. After the Bell family received an “unreserved apology” from the trust in 2002 for its “totally inadequate management supervision”, Cumbria police began their own investigation.
But the force – heavily criticised last month for their “unstructured and disorganised” investigation into Poppi’s violent death – committed a series of failings.
In documents seen by the Guardian, Cumbria police have now admitted to a poor original investigation after an internal review and the force confirmed it reopened inquiries last September.
A man in his 60s has been arrested and is on bail pending a Crown Prosecution Service charging decision. Neither the force or CPS would disclose what offence the man has been arrested on suspicion of.
In a letter to the Bell family, Supt Sarah Jackson, who has recently assumed the role of head of professional standards for Cumbria constabulary, wrote: “Cumbria constabulary could have, and should have, done more, and we let you and your family down.”
The letter goes on to say: “I would like to acknowledge in full that we did not pursue all of the lines of inquiry that we should have during the initial investigation that occurred in 2001, resulting in a flawed investigation.”
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