List of stalker's 'red flags' missed by police before 'murder-suicide' horror
Gracie Spinks’ killer left a long list of red flags from trying to force himself on her to waiting in a layby as he stalked her.
Michael Sellers, 35, was found by a jury to have unlawfully killed Ms Spinks, 23, by stabbing her 10 times as she tended to her horse at Blue Lodge Farm, Duckmanton, Derbyshire, on June 18 2021.
The inquest into Ms Spinks' death, which concluded on Thursday, heard that Sellers had become "obsessed" with her after the pair met at work in 2020 and was reported to police over stalking concerns.
But Sellers’ disturbing behaviour was evident a long time previously with eight women reportedly having made complaints including one who quit her job due to his unwanted attention and he was later spotted parked by her house. Others were pestered by him with one woman changing her address and car but was still located by him.
Gracie began working at the e-commerce firm Xbite in Derbyshire in April, 2020, where Sellers was her supervisor. They were initially friends and would meet up outside of work before on one occasion before Christmas 2020 he tried to force himself on her after he kissed her, and Ms Spinks told him to leave saying she was not interested in a relationship.
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Michael Sellars killed himself (XBite/Facebook)Ms Spinks then reported him to their employer after he was seen by her waiting in a lay-by near Blue Lodge Farm in January 2021, and she drove past without stopping. It led to an investigation by HR managers at Xbite and he was dismissed for gross misconduct.
An operations manager in the investigation reportedly said that “so many red flags” were missed. “He did not recognise that he was doing anything wrong and as I investigated this, there were so many red flags, Gracie saying no, being asked to be left alone, him waiting in a lay-by, just so many red flags. There were just red flags all over the place,” he said, reported ITV.
Ms Spinks reported him to the police, with her 101 call played to the jury. She told the call handler: "As soon as I called it off, he was getting weirder and weirder. He’s been following me on the cameras at work. They’ve seen him do it. He’s done it to other girls at the warehouse, which I didn’t know. Every single time it’s got weirder and weirder."
Ms Spinks was found stabbed to death (Derby Telegraph/BPM Media)Sellers was then spoken to by an inexperienced constable and not formally interviewed, it is reported, with Xbite’s disciplinary file not requested. The stalking investigation led Seller being described as a “standard” risk as he had not made threats of violence.
But on May 6 a dog walker found a bag on a bridle path near Blue Lodge Farm that contained knives, an axe, a hammer, Viagra and a note saying "Don't lie". Police deemed it more likely to be connected with a sex act, theatrics or woodwork, and allocated it as found property.
A CCTV image issued by Derbyshire Constabulary of Michael Sellers returning home on June 17, 2021 (PA)No further investigative work was undertaken in relation to the items, despite a Marks & Spencer receipt in the bag being traceable to one of Sellers' relatives. Gracie’s mother, Alison Heaton, said police "did not join up the dots".
Det Ch Insp Claudia Musson told the inquest that the bag of weapons needed to have been viewed with "concern". She said: "I don’t think anyone who saw the items could reasonably argue they are not weapons that could cause harm. All those items together is a concern."
Derbyshire Police admitted multiple failings in relation to how they dealt with Ms Spinks' complaint, and how they investigated the bag of weapons.
Sellers' body was discovered by two people in undergrowth just after 11am the same day Ms Spinks was killed. A note was found in a bedside cabinet at his home in which he said he could not deal with "all her lies against me" and he was "sorry I let everyone down".
The inquest jury concluded that the serious failings occurred by police, but was told by Mr Kewley that it could not conclude whether the failings contributed to Ms Spinks' death.
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