'Anger' over review of pensioner Esther Brown's murder

The circumstances around Esther Brown's death were investigated

An inquiry into the rape and murder of a pensioner by a registered sex offender was a "missed opportunity", a former charity colleague has said.

Esther Brown, 67, was killed by Jason Graham in her flat in the Woodlands area of Glasgow in May 2021.

A case review concluded the death could "not have been predicted or prevented".

Tim Cowen, manager of Woodlands Community Development Trust, said the result would not "alleviate the anger" among Ms Brown's friends.

Graham - who punched, kicked and stamped on Ms Brown during the attack - had been released on a non-parole licence in June 2018 after being jailed for raping a woman in 2013.

• Man jailed for rape and murder of pensioner

He is now serving at least 19 years in prison for Ms Brown's murder.

Graham was being monitored as a registered sex offender at the time of the attack.

A 60-page significant case review includes 11 recommendations and 14 learning points for the agencies involved, which include Police Scotland, Criminal Justice Social Work and the Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP).

Jason Graham had a history of attacking women

There were also seven examples of good practice.

However, it was ultimately concluded that the murder was a "spontaneous and opportunistic attack carried out against a stranger".

Mr Cowen said Ms Brown, a founding member of the Woodlands Community Garden, had a "heart of gold".

He told BBC Scotland there was "anger" among those at the local charity when they found out about Graham's previous conviction.

"I don't think this report will alleviate that anger," Mr Cowen said.

He described the report as a "missed opportunity" and said its parameters should have been widened to examine conviction rates and sentences for sexual and domestic crimes, how such crimes were dealt with and whether protection services had sufficient funding.

"Sadly I don't think the report will be of much comfort to our community," he said.

Tim Cowen worked with Esther Brown at their local charity

"The report concluded that Esther's death couldn't have been prevented.

"But it really begs the question if this guy was still in prison because we had a criminal justice system that put women at the heart of it and took sexual violence more seriously, then it would have been prevented because he could have still been serving time."

Graham had been drinking and smoking cannabis in a pub with family members on the day of the murder. He was ordered to leave the bar at about 18:00 when he began acting aggressively.

He was heard to say "I know when I'm not wanted" as he left.

The report refers to Jason Graham as "Person H" and Esther Brown as "Woman A".

It said: "His level of intoxication, apparent anger and rejection resulting from the earlier altercation and parting company with family may have been the catalyst to the events which lead to the death of Woman A."

They did not know each other.

As part of his license conditions, Graham was subject to a curfew but the report states that "the exact curfew restrictions imposed... could not be established".

It said there was an assumption this would be done automatically by police, but the responsibility ultimately fell to Criminal Justice Social Work services.

Electronic tag

The report stated that an electronic tag would have been "a significantly better option and would have eliminated several of the issues highlighted".

Despite this, both agencies were performing unannounced visits on Graham in the community to an "enhanced" level.

Graham was said to have engaged well with services and there were no recorded behavioural issues.

But the review highlighted that he had a history of violence and substance misuse.

He had previously been arrested for multiple alleged attacks on women, including an assault on a 17-year-old girlfriend in 2010 in which he "pinned her to a bed, strangled her and punched her."

Ms Brown was a volunteer at a community regeneration project in the Woodlands area of Glasgow

He was detained for a similar assault on an 18-year-old girlfriend two years later.

In 2013, he punched, kicked and raped a 50-year-old woman while "extremely intoxicated".

A key recommendation said that the Scottish government should consider alcohol and substance testing for all appropriate licence conditions.

The Scottish Prison Service was criticised for a lack of effective information sharing with other agencies regarding Graham's conduct at HMP Glenochil.

The report highlighted failures to inform the parole board that he had been dealing cannabis, selling his prescription medication and was in a sexual relationship with another prisoner.

It also details confusion around issuing a mental health referral on Graham's behalf.

The case review found that his GP had also given the wrong information to community mental health services, meaning Graham was seen alone by a female consultant psychiatrist.

Problematic drug use

The report details how Graham had a "turbulent childhood", during which he witnessed the death of his mother when he was five in what was a suspected suicide.

He had no contact with his father and was taken in by his grandparents.

He began using alcohol and cannabis at the age of 10 and became engaged in "criminality and antisocial behaviour". His use of "a wide variety of drugs with alcohol becoming problematic from the age of 14 years".

Pat Togher, chairman of Glasgow's Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), said: "While the review identified areas for learning and improvement, as well as good practice, the findings are clear - it was a spontaneous and impulsive act which could not have been predicted or prevented."

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Det Supt Nicola Kilbane said: "We acknowledge that we will never be able to eliminate risk altogether however, the partnership uses the most robust risk assessment processes and technologies to manage registered sex offenders and mitigate this risk as far as is possible."

A Scottish government spokesman said: "We take the responsibility of protecting the public very seriously and whilst these kinds of incidences are extremely rare, we will carefully consider the recommendations in the significant case review with a range of partners to determine how best to take forward the improvements highlighted."

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson added: "We are currently reviewing our model for safely sharing intelligence, including what can be shared through MAPPA, and will take all possible learning on board to best support our justice colleagues and protect the public.

"We are also piloting a new offender behaviour programme, called Moving Forward To Change (MF2C), which can be provided individually or in a group, and is flexible to meet each individual's needs."

The agencies offered their condolences to Esther's family and friends.