Partner of sex offender died of overdose - inquest

The partner of a convicted sex offender with a history of drugging and sexually assaulting women was found dead in his home after an overdose of alcohol and sleeping tablets, an inquest heard.

Kelly Faiers, 61, from Weston-super-Mare, died at the home of Richard Scatchard, 70, in Minehead, Somerset, on 15 October 2023.

An inquest into her death, at Somerset Coroner's Court, heard Faiers had told colleagues about Scatchard's controlling behaviour and wanting her to take tablets so he could have sex with her while she was unconscious.

Multiple failings were found relating to the police's handling of Faiers' death after Scatchard disappeared the next day. He was found dead six months later.

Scatchard was convicted of drugging and assaulting four women between 1986 and 2000, the inquest heard. He was jailed for life in 2000 but was released on license in 2013 and moved to Minehead in 2020.

Samantha Marsh, senior coroner for Somerset, said he would meet women on dating websites and film or photograph sexual acts while they were unconscious.

The inquest heard Faiers had met Scatchard on a dating website and they had been in a relationship for about six months.

The toxicologist's report said that on the balance of probabilities the cause of death was the combination of alcohol and sleeping tablets.

She had three times the legal driving alcohol limit in her system and it is believed she took 10 Nytol sleeping tablets, which include the antihistamine diphenhydramine.

Faiers' death was initially treated as non-suspicious, but when other evidence came to light about Scatchard's previous convictions, it was treated as murder.

Faiers' eldest daughter Tania Jackson told the inquest her mother was "very caring but vulnerable and couldn't see bad in anyone."

She said she had a good relationship with her mother, who always looked after her four children.

"I've known my mum to be alcohol dependent all my life," she said.

Jackson said her mother's drinking got worse when she was seeing Scatchard, who was "domineering" and "controlling".

"He coaxed her into staying with him, there were times she wanted to leave," she said.

Claire Blick, Faiers' work supervisor, said she had told her about Scatchard's behaviour.

"I told Kelly she needed to get out of that relationship. Kelly replied saying she would never take anything without knowing what was going to happen," she said.

Another colleague Daniel Cepek, said "alarm bells rang" when she started to open up about her interactions with Scatchard, including him asking what flowers she wanted at her funeral.

"Another time Kelly said Scatchard asked her to take tablets so that he could have sex with her when she was unconscious," he said.

Probation officer Bryony King told the inquest Scatchard was deemed low risk when he moved to Somerset in 2020 after a six-year relationship with no reported concerns.

But his risk level was increased to medium in 2021 when a member of the public reported seeing him on a dating website.

He was then required to make any electronic device available for inspection, and was found to have deleted his internet history in a second breach of his license conditions.

Having a secret relationship would have seen him sent back to prison, King said, but the probation service had no idea about the relationship with Faiers.

Curtis Martin, who took over as Scatchard's probation officer in the months leading up to Faiers' death, said: "I was not aware of any intimate relationships.

"There were no warning signs observed in home visits or supervision appointments."

The inquest continues.

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