Murders report 'empty words' says victim's brother

Steven Harnett and Katie Higton were murdered on 15 May 2023

The brother of a man murdered by his girlfriend’s ex-partner has said findings based on an internal review into how police handled the case “may as well be empty words”.

Steven Harnett and Katie Higton were stabbed to death by Ms Higton's ex-partner Marcus Osborne at her home in Huddersfield in May 2023.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it had reviewed the findings of an internal investigation by West Yorkshire Police into the force's contact with Ms Higton and had found no "conduct matters" or criminal offences, but added that there were “areas of possible improvement”.

Mr Harnett's brother Jordan said: “I hope when a woman approaches the police concerned for her life, measures are put in place to protect her. Sadly, I can't see this being the case.”

Jordan Harnett spoke outside court after the sentencing of Marcus Osborne in March

Four days before their murders, Ms Higton told West Yorkshire Police she feared Osborne would "seriously hurt or kill" her.

He was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence offences on 12 May and bailed on the condition he did not return to their home.

Osborne spied on Ms Higton, 27, and attacked her in the home.

She sustained 99 injuries in the assault and Mr Harnett, 25, was left with 24 knife wounds.

Osborne was sentenced to a whole-life prison term for their murders at Leeds Crown Court on 1 March.

IOPC head of national operations Sunny Bhalla said the organisation recommended police make it easier for members of the public to report incidents and improve decision-making procedures around granting suspects bail in similar cases.

He said: “In circumstances like these, where Katie had previously contacted police to make a domestic abuse report, it is important for the circumstances to be investigated and lessons learned where necessary.

“While we did not identify any individual conduct matters, or potential criminal offences by anyone working for the police, our review did find areas of possible improvement.

“It is our view that this should be considered alongside any other broader learning arising from this tragedy.”

Marcus Osborne was sentenced to a whole-life prison term

Jordan Harnett said the results of the investigation were “contradictory”.

He said: “They found 'no wrongdoing' but have 'shared areas of potential learning' - to me that is a contradictory statement."

Mr Harnett said he believed similar statements regarding other cases had been issued by the IOPC on eight previous occasions before this one, and he feared it would have to issue further such statements "in the near future".

“Nine women have been failed since 2019, a completely unacceptable number," he said.

'We cannot sit and watch'

Charity Refuge, which supports victims of domestic violence, said the investigation did not "capture the urgency of this matter".

Ikram Dahman, interim director of fundraising, policy and communications, said: “The devastating deaths of Katie and Steven are part of a broader problem - the reoccurring failure of the police to take immediate action upon receiving reports of abuse and violence.

"These police failings can and do have fatal consequences, and will continue to have such consequences until we see a drastic reform of this system."

He added that more should be done to ensure police forces "reassess their approach to dealing with reports of domestic abuse and violence".

“The police have a duty of care to protect the public, they must listen to and believe survivors of domestic abuse and do everything in their power to support them and keep them safe.

"We cannot sit and watch whilst more lives are taken by male violence.”

West Yorkshire Police said it "fully accepted" the opportunities for improvement and learning identified by the IOPC.

Assistant Ch Con Damien Miller said: "Work has been ongoing in the force for some time to implement this learning.

“An independent domestic homicide review is ongoing and this will fully explore the background and wider circumstances of this case.”

Alison Lowe, the West Yorkshire deputy mayor for policing and crime, spoke about the levels of demand police are facing

Alison Lowe, West Yorkshire deputy mayor for policing and crime, said the force was struggling to cope with demand.

"There are 53,000 domestic abuse cases recorded each year and 6,500 police officers," she said.

"We will always hold the police to account, to be better, to meet the needs of all the citizens of West Yorkshire, but it is inevitable that there will always be those cases in extremis where there are lessons to be learned and where we as a society lose loved ones."

Ms Lowe said a number of initiatives were under way to help "eliminate" violence against women, with one approach seeing 3,000 police officers trained in improving their response to domestic abuse reports.

Correction 28 October: An earlier version of this story suggested the investigation into the police's handling of contact with Ms Higton prior to her murder was carried out by the IOPC. However, the investigation was in fact carried out by West Yorkshire Police and the force's findings were subsequently reviewed by the IOPC.

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