Axe killer 'could have been arrested' if 999 call wasn't on hold, inquest hears

08 March 2024 , 08:12

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Ashley Glennon chased his main carer, Ryan Lowry (pictured), down the street and attacked him with an axe (Image: MEN Media)

A man could have been arrested before he killed his cousin with an axe had police not been left on hold for 40 minutes, an inquest was told.

Ashley Glennon struck his main carer Ryan Lowry 13 times with the bladed weapon after chasing him down the street in Partington, Greater Manchester, in February 2020. Foster father Mr Lowry, 36, suffered fatal injuries in the horrifying attack, with a court hearing of a vital missed opportunity to detain his attacker.

Glennon, then aged 32, later pleaded guilty to manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility due to suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and was sentenced to a hospital order indefinitely. A jury inquest into Mr Lowry's death opened on Monday at Stockport coroner's court, hearing evidence on Thursday on the police's handling.

Ryan Lowry was struck 13 times with an axe (MEN Media)

He suffered fatal wounds in the attack (MEN Media)

Evidence was given by Sergeant Dominic Brady, of Greater Manchester Police's (GMP) professional standards branch, who investigated the way the force dealt with calls made about Glennon on the day of the attack. He said a chain of events which would have prompted officers to check on Glennon broke down.

In the early hours of February 27 - the day of the killing - Glennon kicked down the door of Alan Lambert, the father of his ex-partner, the court heard. Mr Lambert had been asleep when he was woken by a "really irate voice" at 4am, he claimed in a written statement.

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The statement, read out by coroner Adrian Farrow, said he heard someone shout: "Get down here, I'm going to take your f***ing head off." He then heard a 'loud bang', followed by a 'smashing sound', and described the ordeal as 'carnage'. The court heard Mr Lambert obtained CCTV footage of the incident from a neighbour and showed this to his daughter, who said it was her ex-partner, Glennon.

Police at the scene of the attack on February 27, 2020 (MEN Media)

Mr Lambert had contacted GMP about the incident at 4:24am, before officers were allocated to the incident at 7:30am and arrived at his home 19 minutes later. Officers spoke to Mr Lambert and then carried out door-to-door enquiries, poring over CCTV, although the footage was deemed not good enough quality to warrant an arrest, the court heard.

On the same day, Glennon followed his ex-partner Ms Lambert and her children, Mr Farrow told the inquest. The coroner said: "She had alerted the school to the fact because, in her view, he was displaying signs of being mentally unwell."

Ms Lambert called police on 101 at around 11:15am, but hung up after being put on hold for more than 40 minutes, the inquest heard. Mr Lowry was attacked on Moss Lane late that night.

The officer faced questioning from Mr Farrow, Sefton Kwasnik - for Mr Lowry's family, GMP's legal representative Lujzka Halsall-Fischel, and members of the jury. Sgt Brady explained that Ms Lambert's call should have been passed on to the force's control centre.

He told the court that from that moment, police would have prioritised her safety, and the safety of her children. They would have taken further details from Ms Lambert about the incident and about Glennon.

Sgt Brady told the court that 'based on the information' available to him, he would have expected a welfare check to have been carried out on Glennon, within 'three or four hours'. He said: "There would be no point in GMP declaring that it has concern for welfare for an individual and then putting it off for tomorrow to deal with it."

He also said that if Ms Lambert had the opportunity to tell police Glennon had targeted her father's home that morning, officers would have had 'grounds to arrest' him. The officer also explained how police could have detained Glennon under the Mental Health Act, if police felt he did not have capacity, and was outside his home at the time.

The inquest has heard how Glennon had a 'long history of mental illness' - while he admitted he had not been taking his medication prior to killing Mr Lowry. The inquest continues.

Stephen Topping