Police staff misconduct probe over woman's murder

An acting police inspector and a staff member were served with misconduct notices over their dealings with a murder investigation, the BBC can reveal.

Elise Mason died after her estranged husband Mark Donovan, 40, beat and fatally strangled her at his home in Great Baddow, near Chelmsford, in April 2023.

An Essex Police acting inspector and a civilian staff member were investigated over how they responded to a missing person concern about Ms Mason.

Their actions did not cause or contribute to the mother-of-two's death, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) concluded.

A trial at Chelmsford Crown Court heard Donovan and Ms Mason, 37, separated in 2022.

Donovan invited her over on 25 April 2023 hoping to reconcile, but became angered after realising she had found a new lover.

He killed Ms Mason in what the judge branded a "jealous rage", using a lamp to inflict more than 70 injuries upon her.

Donovan was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years after being found guilty of murder.

Essex Police made a mandatory referral to the IOPC the day after Ms Mason's murder, relating to a missing person's report made several hours before she was found dead.

Officers were unaware Ms Mason had already been killed when they received the report.

However, the IOPC found the acting inspector's performance had "fallen short of the expectations of the public and the police service" and ordered him to undergo training.

It said he failed to look into an intelligence report that showed Ms Mason was a repeat victim of domestic violence by Donovan.

• 25 April 2023, 15:50 BST - Elise Mason leaves her mother's house
• 16:09 - She arrives at Mark Donovan's house
• 16:42 - Ms Mason texts her new partner 'you OK babe?'. He replied 'course babe', but this is never marked as read
• 18:25 - Mark Donovan leaves his home address after murdering Ms Mason inside
• 18:30 - He arrives at The Blue Lion pub in Great Baddow, has a drink and discards Ms Mason's phone in a toilet
• 18:50 - Donovan leaves the pub and gets into a taxi. He later visits family, before going to a massage parlour in Romford
• 26 April 2023, 00:00 - Ms Mason's family reports her as missing
• 02:50 - Donovan hands himself in at a police station in Ilford, east London, and tells officers he had done "the worst thing"
• 05:21 - Police enter Donovan's home and find Ms Mason unresponsive

The IOPC also said the inspector mistakenly recorded Ms Mason as a suspect in the incident log.

The member of police staff - an assessment officer, whose job is to provide and collate information - failed to identify a restraining order in place that prohibited Donovan from contacting Ms Mason.

Donovan was also serving a suspended prison sentence for assaulting her at the time of the murder.

The acting inspector was served a misconduct notice in May 2023, but was found to have not committed gross misconduct.

The staff member left the force before the IOPC investigation concluded, having been told of proceedings in June 2023.

An Essex Police spokesman reiterated the IOPC's statement that the actions of its officers were not found to have caused or contributed to Ms Mason's death.

"A report did highlight some learnings, which included a simple typing error, for an acting inspector, which were accepted and acted upon," he added.

"The death of Elise Mason in April 2023 was tragic and her whole family continues to feel her loss, most especially her loving children and parents."

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