Relatives of a murder victim have slammed police after the man wanted over her death was found dead in a caravan last week - six months later.
Detectives had been hunting 70-year-old Richard Scatchard in relation to the murder of Kelly Faiers back in October after meeting her on a dating app and going for a drink with her. The convicted sex offender disappeared shortly after her death and a body found in a caravan in Watchet, Somerset, last week has now been confirmed to be his.
Kelly, 61, from Weston-super-Mare, was found dead at Scatchard's home in Minehead, Somerset, on October 15; the day after their meeting at a pub in the town. Her family, meanwhile, shared their concerns about a "lack of support" from police, claiming they were told Scatchard's body had actually been found in shrubbery, and were asked not to share details with wider family despite the information being publicly released the following day.
Richard Scatchard was the subject of an appeal after Kelly was found dead at his home (Avon and Somerset Constabulary / SWNS)"One of our family liaison officers updated us this morning to advise that the body had been found in shrubbery and had been there for a long time so visual identification was not possible at this stage," the family told The Independent.
"Avon and Somerset [Police] have issued a press release without our prior knowledge which advised that the body was found in a caravan not shrubbery and that we're being kept informed and supported by our family liaison officers. We would like to clarify that as a family we dispute this claim of support."
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Kelly's loved ones also said they expressed their concerns in a comment on the force's statement on Facebook about the body find, only for comments to then be switched off. Police however said this was due to it being a live investigation.
Avon and Somerset, meanwhile, said: "A mandatory referral will be made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after confirmation of Scatchard’s death following police contact. This is because we spoke with the 70-year-old at the scene of Kelly’s death last October, shortly before he disappeared, before carrying out subsequent enquiries to find him."
Police have confirmed Scatchard's body had been found in a caravan and had been 'likely dead for some time' (Avon and Somerset ConstabularyAv / SWNS)
Police have been hunting Richard Scatchard, 70, since October 15 last year (Avon & Somerset Police / SWNS)Scatchard had been the subject of a manhunt for nearly six months when his body was discovered by Nicky Kieley-Shier in her caravan on Thursday afternoon. Ms Kieley-Shier, 66, from Taunton, has spoken of her absolute horror in finding his remains on Thursday after he had been hiding out in her caravan.
Detectives said he had likely been dead for some time. "I just can't stop getting flashbacks of his head," she told the BBC. "It was horrible." Ms Kieley-Shier said she had last been at the caravan on October 8 - a week before Scatchard went missing.
Detective Superintendent Gary Haskins, from the force's Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “Both Kelly’s family and Richard Scatchard’s family were notified after the body was found earlier this week. We have now informed both families that the body recovered has been confirmed as Scatchard.
“While it is apparent Scatchard died some time ago, the forensic post-mortem examination proved inconclusive in determining the cause of death. Therefore, as is routine in such cases, we continue to treat the death as unexplained, albeit we are not aware at this time of there being any suspicious circumstances. Enquiries will continue and a file produced for the coroner.”
Richard Scatchard and Kelly Faiers at the Duke of Wellingon Pub in Minehead the night before Kelly's death (Avon and Somerset Constabulary / SWNS)Responding to Kelly's family's concerns, a force spokesperson said: "Family liaison officers were assigned to provide updates and offer support to Kelly's family following her death in October last year. A decision was taken [on Thursday], with neither family liaison officer on duty, for a Detective Sergeant who has had prior contact with Kelly's family to update them about a body being found to ensure they learned of the latest development from us at the earliest opportunity, even though formal identification has not yet been confirmed.
"We asked the family to not publicise this at that point, because we had not yet informed all the other relevant parties at that point in time. Following issuing of a public update regarding the discovery of a body, we received contact from Kelly’s family to express their dissatisfaction this had been issued. We called and apologised to them that this process had not been properly communicated with them.
"A decision to turn Facebook comments off on our post around the discovery of a body was made following messages speculating on the cause of death and circumstances during a live police investigation. We felt such commentary was inappropriate and potentially distressing and therefore believed the most sensible course of action was to disable them, in accordance with similar action previously taken. A message to explain that decision was posted on our Facebook page.
"We will continue to provide timely updates to Kelly's family as our enquiries progress in the coming days during what we appreciate is an incredibly difficult time for them."
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