Murder victim's family say hospital was complacent

Roger Leadbeater was stabbed 57 times, an inquest heard

The family of a man stabbed 57 times by a woman who escaped from a secure hospital have criticised the "complacency" within her care.

Emma Borowy, 32, killed 74-year-old Roger Leadbeater as he walked his dog, Max, in a park in Sheffield on 9 August 2023.

Sheffield Coroner's Court heard Ms Borowy's friend told South Yorkshire Police five days before the murder that the mother of one had talked about "hurting people", but this information was not shared with the mental health unit where she was being held.

Dr Dilraj Sohi, from the Royal Bolton Hospital, told the inquest communication lines between partner agencies "are, or historically have been, inconsistent".

Mr Leadbeater's niece, Angela Hector, who is representing the family at her uncle's inquest, told the hearing: "Emma Borowy was clearly seriously mentally unwell."

She said not every instance where Ms Borowy had tried to escape hospital had been recorded and added: "I think there was a lot of complacency."

On Tuesday the inquest was told Ms Borowy absconded on 4 August 2023 after taking leave. She was found by police in Sheffield, where it was thought she had travelled to see a friend.

South Yorkshire Police created a vulnerable adult form after their officers located Ms Borowy in which they described her as "delusional, suicidal and talking about hurting people".

'Tracked by the devil'

Dr Sohi, who granted Ms Borowy more leave three days later, on 7 August, said there was no record of the report being shared with the hospital.

Asked if his decision to grant leave might have been different in light of this information, he said: "I would probably have waited to the ward round to have a face-to-face discussion with her. I would want to know what the context of this information was."

The hearing was told that just two days later Ms Borowy inflicted 57 stab wounds and 18 incised wounds on Mr Leadbeater when she attacked him in a park off Shortbrook Close in Westfield.

Senior Coroner Tanyka Rawden said Ms Borowy, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis, told police she "was being tracked by the devil" and had not slept or taken any medication for three days.

Mr Leadbeater's inquest is taking place at the Medico-Legal Centre

Dr Sohi told the inquest he had not met Ms Borowy when he took over responsibility for her care on 7 August and granted her leave.

Asked why he granted her further leave, he replied: "By all accounts Emma had been relatively settled over the weekend.

"She had shown remorse for her actions, wanting a new start, and really valued leave from my understanding."

There were "no major untowards" when she had previously gone AWOL, he added, although he did agree with a suggestion from Ms Rawden that Ms Borowy was "a high risk of going AWOL again".

Ms Borowy was returned to the hospital by police on the morning of 10 August.

According to Ms Hector, she was discovered in the same park where Mr Leadbeater was killed.

But it was not until later that day when police called the unit where she had been returned to and told staff she was suspected of involvement in a serious incident.

Asked if he would do anything different with hindsight, Dr Sohi replied: "We do need to improve our liaisons with our colleagues in the police and other forces over information where people are absconded from the ward."

Ms Borowy was charged with murder, but died in prison before she stood trial.

The inquest continues.

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