Mum seeks answers 10 years after custody death

The family of a woman who died in police custody 10 years ago is considering legal action to challenge the delays they have faced with a judicial review.

Kelly Hartigan-Burns, 35, was found unresponsive in a cell in Blackburn, Lancashire, in December 2016 after being arrested over an alleged assault and had earlier tried to take her own life.

A former custody sergeant was found guilty of gross misconduct over his handling of her detention and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched a further investigation into "additional evidence" it received.

Kelly's mother, June Hartigan, said she was still waiting for answers over the "never-ending" case.

An inquest found there may have been "a different outcome" if police "had shown more compassion".

The inquest, held at County Hall in Preston in April 2022, heard Kelly was under the care of a psychiatrist and was carrying prescribed medication when she was arrested.

She had left her home in Barley Bank Street on 3 December following an argument with her wife, dressed only in her pyjamas and dressing gown.

Lancashire Police received a 999 call to say she was walking in front of cars and saying "I need to die".

The inquest heard she was later found by two police officers in the car park of a church and taken home where her wife made an allegation of assault against her and she was arrested and taken to Greenbank Police Station in Blackburn.

The jury said the failure of the senior attending officer to inform the transporting officer or the custody staff that Kelly was a suicide-risk, "contributed" to her death.

Following the inquest's conclusion, which was heavily critical of officers, Lancashire Police said it was "truly sorry" it had failed in its "duty of care".

An appeal against a gross misconduct ruling, which found one former police sergeant had "lost control" while dealing with Kelly, was later dismissed.

June said the family was considering a judicial review as they had been "left in limbo".

She said the wait for answers "has been painful because we've not been allowed to grieve properly because this case is still ongoing with the police".

"I just want them to tell me what's going on," she said.

"We just keep being told that they're waiting for some information from Lancashire Police and that's the only email we keep getting for the last six months."

An IOPC spokesperson said: "Our independent investigation into a complaint regarding some of the evidence heard during the inquest concluded in 2023 and found one officer had a case to answer for gross misconduct.

"Lancashire Constabulary, which is responsible for arranging the disciplinary hearing, shared further information, which was not available to us during the investigation, in October 2025 and we shared this with the complainant.

"We have since explored further lines of inquiry raised by this additional evidence to determine what impact, if any, it may have on our decision making.

"Our review of the new information is almost complete, and we await one further statement before we will be in a position to share our draft findings with the complainant and Lancashire Constabulary.

"We recognise the impact on all those involved to have matters unresolved, so long after Kelly's death, and have been assured that we will soon have the information we require in order to reach our decision."

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