Family of mother-of-five who was stabbed to death by her jealous ex in ‘murder suicide’ tell inquest police missed opportunity to save her after she called cops 24 hours earlier to report him for stalking
- Sherrie Milnes, 51, was stabbed and strangled to death at home in Weymouth
The family of a mother-of-five stabbed and strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend has said police could have prevented her death.
Healthcare assistant Sherrie Milnes, 51, was discovered by her daughter at home in Weymouth on April 1, 2021, after she was stabbed and strangled to death by her ‘obsessive’ ex-boyfriend Steven Doughty, 54, earlier that day.
Paramedics pronounced Sherrie dead at the scene and at 6.30pm Dorset Police found Doughty had hanged himself at his home in Portland, around six miles away from Sherrie’s house.
Her family believes police missed the chance to prevent Sherrie’s ‘tragic and soul-destroying’ death when she called 101 the day before she was killed to complain that Doughty was harassing her, an inquest into her death heard.
The hearing was told that Ms Milnes had called the police on March 31, but her call was categorised as a medium risk domestic abuse matter with no immediate threat to her life.
Healthcare assistant Sherrie Milnes, 51, (right) was discovered by her daughter at home in Weymouth on April 1, 2021, after she was stabbed and strangled to death by her ‘obsessive’ ex-boyfriend Steven Doughty, 54, (left) earlier that day
Her family believes police missed the chance to prevent Sherrie’s ‘tragic and soul-destroying’ death when she called 101 the day before she was killed to complain that Doughty was harassing her, an inquest into her death heard
Paramedics pronounced Sherrie dead at the scene (pictured on April 2, 2021) and at 6.30pm Dorset Police found Doughty had hanged himself at his home in Portland, around six miles away from Sherrie’s house
Doughty bought an eight inch kitchen knife from a Wilko store on April 1, before he was seen on CCTV going into Sherrie’s home (pictured after the attack) carrying a supermarket carrier bag. He was in her home for about an hour, in what is believed to have been a desperate attempt to win her back
Officers were due to visit her following the call but no contact was made before Ms Milnes was found dead.
Her family said: ‘There would have been a significant cause for concern as it is in her nature to persevere and solve problems and difficulties independently.’
At the inquest in Bournemouth, Coroner Rachael Griffin said the family thought police call handlers missed opportunities to upgrade the classification of Sherre’s complaint against Doughty.
She said: ‘There were indicators, they say – that there were phrases used that should have been been noted to raise the log to a higher priority.’
She added that the family believes that if the police had then acted by providing ‘advice’ to Doughty, ‘this tragic and soul-destroying outcome’ could have been prevented.
Superintendent Peter Browning, of Dorset Police, told the inquest that nothing more could have been done by the officers at the time and correct procedures had been followed.
He explained that the force was dealing with increased ‘volume and demand’ and even if an officer had visited Ms Milnes before her death, it was ‘unlikely’ that Doughty would have been arrested or spoken to within that time frame.
Dorset coroner Rachael Griffin found that there was no evidence that Sherrie’s death could have been prevented.
Afterwards, Doughty went home and hanged himself, leaving a suicide note that said ‘sorry for the s***storm I have created’. Pictured: Police and paramedics on Doughty’s street
Armed police smashed down the door of Doughty’s home (pictured on April 2, 2021) before finding his body inside
The hearing heard Sherrie, who had five children and was also a grandmother, was in a relationship with Doughty for eight years before she broke it off on February 25, 2021.
He made several attempts to get with her but by March 2021 she was seeing somebody else.
By that stage he was said to be ‘not coping’ with the break-up and a colleague told the inquest he turned into a ‘different man’ and appeared ‘broken and distraught’.
Sherrie’s family said: ‘Steve would always pursue Sherrie to get her back, using phone calls, text messages, sending flowers and gifts.’
Sherrie’s daughter, Holly, said in a statement that Doughty had been ‘continuously’ messaging Ms Milnes and ‘dialling and redialling’ her, and she had blocked him on her mother’s social media.
She had seen Doughty sitting in his car outside the home she shared with her mother because ‘he wanted to check she had gone to work’.
She said Doughty had told her he had contacted the Samaritans because he was ‘not coping’ with the break-up and a friend of Doughty told the hearing that he was ‘broken and distraught’.
Armed police in stab-proof vests and balaclavas were seen alongside paramedics at Doughty’s home
Subsequent police investigations revealed Doughty had carried out internet research on suicide methods and on how to purchase a knife
Doughty sent an email to himself at 11.51am but addressed to his brother stating he was distraught about the breakdown of his relationship and suggested he was going to take his own life, an inquest into Doughty’s death held last year heard.
Doughty bought an eight inch kitchen knife from a Wilko store on April 1, before he was seen on CCTV going into Sherrie’s home carrying a supermarket carrier bag.
He was in her home for about an hour, in what is believed to have been a desperate attempt to win her back.
When she rejected him he stabbed and strangled her in a pre-planned attack after adopting the mindset of ‘if I can’t have you then no-one else can.’
Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue said Sherrie died of ‘violent’ neck compression and multiple stab wounds.
DNA analysis of blood discovered on Doughty’s jeans found that he would have been kneeling over her when she was stabbed and samples showed ‘skin-to-skin contact’ between the pair.
After killing Sherrie, he is thought to have thrown away the knife and her mobile phone in a bin at a Co-op in Portland. Police never found the knife.
Afterwards, Doughty went home and hanged himself, leaving a suicide note that said ‘sorry for the s***storm I have created’.
Subsequent police investigations revealed he had carried out internet research on suicide methods and on how to purchase a knife.
Detective Sergeant Richard Winn, of Dorset Police, said: ‘He wanted answers as to why the relationship broke down and wanted to reignite [it] but this was a back-up.
‘I think the intention was to get back together with Sherrie in his mindset and, because it was established that couldn’t happen, then if Steve couldn’t be in a relationship with Sherrie then no-one else could either.’
The officer said Doughty would have been charged with murder had he not killed himself.
Sherrie’s family described her as a ‘vibrant and beautiful’ person.
In a statement they said: ‘All who knew her loved her. She had a passion for life, a wicked sense of humour and an infectious laugh.
‘She was a kind, vibrant and beautiful woman. Her generosity was endless. All who knew her loved her and [she] will live forever in our hearts.’
As she concluded, Coroner Ms Griffin apologised to the family for the ‘time it has taken for these matters to reach this conclusion’ as she paid tribute to Ms Milnes as a ‘much-loved lady’ who was ‘devoted to her family’.
She said: ‘I cannot begin to imagine what you have gone through since that dreadful day and my thoughts are very much with those who knew Sherrie.’
She ruled that Sherrie’s death was an unlawful killing.
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