Nicholas Churton murder: Third watchdog inquiry into police

Nicholas Churton was murdered at his home in Wrexham in 2017

A third investigation has begun into the conduct of police following the murder of a disabled man in Wrexham.

Nicholas Churton, 67, was killed with a machete and hammer at his home in 2017 by Jordan Davidson, who had previous convictions and was out on licence.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it was now looking into the conduct of a former senior officer at North Wales Police (NWP).

It followed a complaint referred by the region's police and crime commissioner.

Earlier this month, Wrexham MP Ian Lucas claimed under parliamentary privilege he had been "deliberately misled" by police over the case.

Now the IOPC has said the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales "recently referred a complaint to us in which the complainant alleged they were misled by the former officer about the details of our investigation into NWP's actions prior to the murder of Nicholas Churton".

IOPC regional director Miranda Biddle, said: "Due to the seriousness of the allegation and the public interest in this particular case we have decided to carry out an independent investigation.

"To avoid any potential conflict of interest with the ongoing investigation, we will be conducting this investigation, which is in its early stages, from our regional office in the North East."

Jordan Davidson is serving a 30-year term after his sentence was extended in February 2018

Mr Lucas has confirmed to BBC Wales he has made an official complaint to the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones.

He told BBC Wales: "It's important that I'm given straightforward answers by people in public office. I don't think that happened in this case."

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Two other IOPC investigations have been launched relating to the murder of Mr Churton.

An NWP spokesperson said: "As an IOPC investigation is under way, it would be inappropriate for us to comment at the moment."

The first IOPC probe looked at police contact with Mr Churton in the days before his death, concluding last October that officers may have made errors when dealing with the case.

The second IOPC investigation, which is ongoing, is looking at what contact police had with Davidson prior to his attack on Mr Churton.

Davidson, from Wrexham, is serving a 30-year prison sentence.