1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,800 [narrator] A young woman in love with a man 12 years her senior. 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:09,920 I've almost sort of like... gone into a little bubble with him, 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:11,880 where it's just me and him. 4 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:12,880 [tense music playing] 5 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:15,480 [narrator] 21-year-old Katie Wilding is telling police 6 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:17,680 about her relationship with Mitchell Richardson, 7 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:19,680 her first serious boyfriend. 8 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:20,840 [tense music playing] 9 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:23,080 [Katie] He's got the most genuine heart ever. 10 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:26,120 And I love it. I get emotional. 11 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:27,560 [tense music continues] 12 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:29,200 We're so [beep] good together. 13 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:31,920 We don't even argue. We don't even bicker. 14 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,400 [narrator] Katie tells police he has a darker side. 15 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:37,840 [Katie] And he was like, "Well, let's see how fast they can get here 16 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,080 because by the time they get here, I'll kill you. 17 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:42,560 Whoever comes through the door, I'll do the same to them 18 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:43,600 with a knife." 19 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:44,880 [tense music continues] 20 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,960 I couldn't believe someone that I thought loved me would do that to me. 21 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:50,440 [tense music continues] 22 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:52,320 [ominous music] 23 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:56,120 [heartbeat thudding] 24 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,280 -[gentle music playing] -[birds chirping] 25 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:02,200 [keys clacking] 26 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,440 -[gentle music continues] -[birds chirping, cawing] 27 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:14,760 This was taken in her work, 28 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:16,880 and I think this was her 18th birthday. 29 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,880 It's one of my favorites, because she's looking right at the camera. 30 00:01:21,960 --> 00:01:23,760 She could light the room up with her giggle. 31 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:25,600 It was just the most wonderful thing. 32 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,720 This just reminds me of really happy times. 33 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,760 Growing up, Katie and I were incredibly close. 34 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:35,240 I think, as a young child, 35 00:01:35,320 --> 00:01:38,280 she was the one left at home while her bigger sisters went to school. 36 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:41,320 She was the only blonde, blue-eyed one. 37 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:45,320 She was absolutely spoiled rotten by everybody. 38 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,120 [upbeat acoustic music playing] 39 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:49,800 [Sue] Katie was very angelic, 40 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:51,720 very sweet, 41 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:54,480 a lot of fun, very giggly. 42 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:59,320 Yeah, just a really sweet little girl, baby of the family. 43 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:03,040 [Emma] Katie and I were very close. 44 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:05,200 Our older sisters were sort of very outgoing, 45 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:07,160 and we were quite shy and reserved, 46 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,560 and that kind of built a bond between us that we would stick together. 47 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,520 Katie was very shy as a child, 48 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:15,880 but just beautiful. 49 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:17,640 She always had a smile on her face, 50 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:20,480 and, as she grew up and became more confident, 51 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:22,720 she just became the life and soul of the party. 52 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:25,800 She just was so open and friendly, 53 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:30,040 and her bubbly personality kind of drew people to her. 54 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:33,640 Katie had lots and lots of friends. She was very popular, 55 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:36,360 and she was very easygoing, very giggly. 56 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:37,760 She liked to laugh. 57 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:39,680 She liked to get up to mischief. 58 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:42,560 [Emma] Katie left school at 15, 59 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:44,040 and she'd been doing hairdressing 60 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,440 on a Saturday as a job, 61 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:48,520 and just absolutely loved it. 62 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:50,800 So she decided to become a hairdresser, 63 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:52,600 and won many awards as well. 64 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:54,600 She was a really fantastic hairdresser. 65 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,320 [tense music playing] 66 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:02,720 [narrator] By Spring 2015, Katie Wilding, now aged 19, 67 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:03,920 has done some traveling. 68 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,080 She returns home from a trip to Australia. 69 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:09,440 [Julie] You can appreciate that after four or five months away, 70 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:12,320 moving back in with the old people 71 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:14,160 wasn't really what she was looking for. 72 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:15,960 So we managed to find her a nice little flat 73 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:17,200 just off the sea front. 74 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:20,120 It wasn't a huge flat, 75 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,000 so it didn't take a lot of tidying, 76 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:25,120 but I think she enjoyed having her independence. 77 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:28,840 [Emma] At this point in life, she really was happy. 78 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:31,120 She was just living life to the full, 79 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:33,000 and had lots to look forward to. 80 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:38,880 [Julie] Katie had had boyfriends, but no serious relationships. 81 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,800 She was enjoying her life too much, I think. 82 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:43,840 [Emma] She was quite happy being a free spirit, 83 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,560 and spending time with her friends and family. 84 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:50,000 [tense music continues] 85 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:55,240 [narrator] Within a few weeks, Katie meets someone new: 86 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:57,440 Mitchell Richardson. 87 00:03:57,520 --> 00:03:59,760 [tense music continues] 88 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:01,880 [Emma] Katie told me one day when we met 89 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,840 that she had gone for lunch at a sandwich bar with a friend, 90 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:08,160 and this guy had come over to her, 91 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:10,640 and said that he would really like to get to know her. 92 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,440 [Julie] Mitchell's first words to Katie were, 93 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:15,920 "I've been watching you." 94 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,920 [tense music continues] 95 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,600 Katie was very flattered by that at this point. 96 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:26,120 When she told me about it, I was a little bit concerned, 97 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:30,320 not overly concerned, but it did seem a little intense. 98 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:34,280 Katie was 19, Mitchell was 31 when they met. 99 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,520 Mitchell was a lot, lot bigger than Katie, 100 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,000 both in height and in size. 101 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:42,920 He used to go to the gym a lot. 102 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:44,840 Katie was tiny compared to him. 103 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,080 [Julie] She was very excited when she was describing Mitchell. 104 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:51,600 [tense music continues] 105 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:53,920 She said he was tall, he was dark, and he was handsome. 106 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,600 It was the old cliché going here, 107 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:58,000 but she was excited. 108 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:00,160 She said he was a proper man rather than a boy. 109 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:02,480 That's what I think she felt quite frustrated with, 110 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:03,920 chaps of her own age 111 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,640 that she felt she was more mature than that. 112 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:08,160 So she was very excited. 113 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:10,760 ♪ In the bluegrass ♪ 114 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:12,520 He had a BMW car. 115 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:14,040 I think, at 19, she was a little bit, 116 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,520 "Oh, this is quite nice," to be treated, to be spoiled. 117 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,800 He took her to some very nice restaurants initially. 118 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:22,040 He bought her a new mobile phone. 119 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:24,400 He was really spoiling her. 120 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:26,200 And I don't think that's something she'd had 121 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:28,200 from previous relationships before. 122 00:05:28,280 --> 00:05:31,240 ♪ Wild flowers ♪ 123 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:33,440 [Emma] During the first few weeks of their relationship, 124 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:35,720 she did fall head over heels for him. 125 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:37,880 She would send me text messages saying 126 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:39,360 that he'd bought her flowers, 127 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:40,640 or he'd bought her a new phone, 128 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:42,160 or he was taking her out for dinner. 129 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:43,800 And yeah, she seemed very much like 130 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:46,040 she'd fallen in love with him very quickly. 131 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:49,240 But I think someone who showed her that much attention, 132 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:51,640 she fell for very quickly. 133 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:53,640 [tense music continues] 134 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,760 At the very beginning, I would say she was happy, 135 00:05:56,840 --> 00:05:59,520 but that very quickly changed. 136 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,200 [tense music playing] 137 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,480 The first time I met Mitchell was around Katie's flat. 138 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:09,000 And, at first, he was very pleasurable, 139 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:10,240 but he almost tried too hard. 140 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:11,640 It was quite intense. 141 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,280 And Katie was learning to drive at the time. 142 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:18,400 So we went out for a drive to a local car park, 143 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:19,880 so she could practice. 144 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,960 And quite quickly, I became a little bit uncomfortable, 145 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,240 because of the way he spoke to her. 146 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:26,800 He was very controlling. 147 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:30,440 He put her down quite a lot about the way she drove. 148 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:32,360 And I just didn't like his attitude towards her 149 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:34,080 at that point. 150 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:36,600 And he was already displaying controlling behavior. 151 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,560 [tense music continues] 152 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:41,440 [narrator] A few weeks into the relationship, 153 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:43,320 Emma visits her sister again 154 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:46,600 at the flat that her family had helped her find. 155 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:49,560 [Emma] I went round to help her build some furniture, 156 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:51,320 and I realized that throughout the flat 157 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:53,240 there was a lot of things that weren't hers, 158 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:54,960 and it was very much in a mess, 159 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:58,360 which, in some ways, was very unlike Katie. 160 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:00,800 And she told me at that point 161 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:03,360 that Mitchell had moved in with her. 162 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:04,720 [tense music continues] 163 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:06,040 [Julie] Mitchell came to Katie, 164 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,640 and said that he was being evicted from his home, 165 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:11,440 and asked if he could move in with her 166 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:13,160 just as a short-term measure 167 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:15,600 until he could find somewhere else to live. 168 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:20,000 [narrator] Katie is now living with a man she's known for only a few weeks. 169 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:23,000 Her family feel things are moving too quickly. 170 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:24,440 [Julie] We were very concerned. 171 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:27,800 We didn't know who this man was. We knew he was a little bit older. 172 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:31,400 We didn't know anything about his family or his friends. 173 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:33,360 So yes, we were quite concerned at this point 174 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:35,120 that we hadn't actually met him. 175 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,440 [suspenseful continues] 176 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:41,160 [Emma] His words at the time were he was being evicted from his flat 177 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:42,720 for not being able to pay the rent. 178 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:46,160 But we soon found out that there was a lot more to it than that. 179 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:48,040 [Julie] When he moved in with her, 180 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,240 Katie found out that he had violence in his past, 181 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:52,640 [suspenseful music continues] 182 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:55,040 because he had to tell her that he had a tag on his leg, 183 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:56,800 which was given to him by the courts. 184 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:00,400 This was for violence against another man, 185 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,000 which Mitchell had claimed was in self-defense. 186 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:05,280 [suspenseful music continues] 187 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:08,360 But Katie believed that he'd been misrepresented at court, 188 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:10,360 that he'd been misunderstood by the judge, 189 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:13,720 that nobody had listened to him, and she didn't believe him to be violent. 190 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:15,760 She said she trusted him. 191 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:19,240 [tense music continues] 192 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:26,440 It was a few weeks after they'd been living together 193 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:28,720 that we saw a change in Katie. 194 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:31,480 Katie was working at my friend's hair salon, 195 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:33,000 and my friend phoned me and said, 196 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:36,200 "Katie has been coming in in the last few mornings in tears. 197 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,760 She's upset about something." 198 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:40,960 And this particular day, about two to three weeks 199 00:08:41,039 --> 00:08:42,760 after they'd been living together, 200 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:44,680 Mitchell walked into the hair salon, 201 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,280 [tense music continues] 202 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:51,240 and started shouting at Katie in front of everybody. 203 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:53,240 [tense music continues] 204 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:54,400 And he spat at her. 205 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:57,880 Mitchell threw a set of keys into Katie's face, 206 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,160 which caught her here, and left. 207 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:02,200 [tense music continues] 208 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:04,480 Katie was absolutely devastated. 209 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:06,920 When my friends, the owner of the salon, 210 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,880 he was talking to her and calming her down, 211 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:11,880 she said that it was entirely her fault, 212 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:14,200 because she drank the last of the milk that morning, 213 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:16,560 and hadn't left him any milk for coffee. 214 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:18,440 And that's why he was angry. 215 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:22,240 [tense music continues] 216 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:24,880 [narrator] Becky Mason is a detective and an expert 217 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:27,960 in uncovering toxic relationships. 218 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,720 [Rebecca] This is a scene of utter chaos. 219 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,200 But what is very apparent with this is he doesn't care 220 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,120 who sees this outburst of his. 221 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:40,960 It's like he goes into this complete red zone tunnel vision. 222 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:42,280 He is that angry 223 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:44,880 that he has blocked out everyone else around him. 224 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:47,120 He spits at her in public, 225 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:49,240 throws keys at her in public, 226 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:53,040 and creates this scene over milk. 227 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:54,600 What kind of person does that? 228 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:59,120 [Julie] I was devastated. This was my baby. 229 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,120 I wanted to challenge Mitchell, but Katie asked me not to. 230 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:03,440 She said it was okay. 231 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,960 She dealt with it, he'd apologized, and they'd moved on. 232 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:09,640 Katie was signed off work very soon after that 233 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:11,600 with anxiety and depression. 234 00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:14,000 [tense music continues] 235 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:15,960 [narrator] A few weeks later, Mitchell and Katie 236 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:18,320 are spotted by her mum's friend Sue, 237 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:20,920 who's out with her husband in Torquay Harbour. 238 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:24,520 [Sue] A car pulled into the loading bay, 239 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,160 and Katie and Mitchell got out of the car, 240 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:33,160 and they started to walk back 241 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:35,240 towards the bars and the restaurants. 242 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,800 And another car pulled up right behind Mitchell's car, 243 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,680 and caused his car alarm to start going off, 244 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:47,000 at which point he completely lost his temper, 245 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:49,000 and started screaming and shouting 246 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:53,760 at the gentleman in the car behind, 247 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:55,360 and was getting very animated, 248 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,080 and shouting, screaming at him. 249 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:02,520 And Katie tried to calm him down, 250 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:04,840 and then he started shouting at her also. 251 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,920 And he got into the car and sped off. 252 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:11,840 It was a very shocking incident to see, 253 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:16,400 and made me feel very uncomfortable and very worried for her. 254 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:18,240 [tense music continues] 255 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:21,120 It was the quickness with which he lost his temper 256 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:22,840 over nothing. 257 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:25,720 My husband was very shocked by what he saw. 258 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:27,880 And he said to me that 259 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:31,240 if he was talking to her like this in public, 260 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,240 then what was he talking to her like in private? 261 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:36,440 How was he treating her behind closed doors? 262 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,800 [narrator] Sue tells Katie's family about the incident. 263 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:43,280 [Julie] We were aware of red flags all the way through the relationship. 264 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,280 We never thought that it would come to the outcome it did. 265 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:48,520 [tense music continues] 266 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,120 [tense music playing] 267 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:00,520 [narrator] As concern grows about Katie's relationship with Mitchell, 268 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,080 her family notice worrying changes in her behavior. 269 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:08,040 [Emma] This is the point where I started to see the change in my sister 270 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:11,920 from being that bubbly, happy, sort of outgoing person 271 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:16,840 to becoming very withdrawn, and hiding things from us. 272 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:19,120 Katie left her job, she went to the doctors, 273 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:21,760 and was signed off with anxiety and depression. 274 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:23,920 And that started her on a spiral. 275 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,120 [Emma] Very quickly into the relationship, Mitchell cut her off from her friends, 276 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:30,600 and I think that's was for control. 277 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:34,280 [Julie] Katie would tell us that Mitchell was adamant 278 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:36,600 that her friends were trying to split them up. 279 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:39,400 He would tell her, "Your friends don't like me. 280 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:43,800 Your friends are telling lies about me, because they don't like us together. 281 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:45,440 They're jealous of our time. 282 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:48,200 They're jealous of our love, of our mature relationship." 283 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:49,440 Slowly, but gradually, 284 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:51,680 she lost touch with all of her friends. 285 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:54,240 [tense music continues] 286 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:57,040 [Rebecca] Mitchell has seen this independent woman, 287 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:01,200 and made it his sole purpose to break her down to nothing. 288 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:03,160 He is stopping her seeing her friends. 289 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:06,400 The classic signs, in this case, of that coercion, 290 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:11,720 and just really sort of exercising the control that he has over her. 291 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:15,200 And the fact that the family are watching their daughter 292 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:17,760 almost disintegrate is heartbreaking. 293 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:21,320 [tense music continues] 294 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:27,880 [narrator] One year into the relationship, 295 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:30,200 Katie is isolated from her friends, 296 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:32,760 and living alone with an abusive boyfriend. 297 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:36,720 And now she's set to lose the home that she and her mother had found. 298 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:39,760 Katie was evicted from her flat, 299 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:42,400 -[tense music continues] -[engine revving] 300 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,480 because Mitchell had started to smash the flat. 301 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:49,680 Neighbors were starting to complain to the landlord that there was screaming, 302 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:52,120 there was shouting coming from the flat. 303 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:56,000 So all at the same time, she lost her job, she lost her flat, 304 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,960 she definitely started to withdraw from us, from her family. 305 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,040 [narrator] In an increasingly fractious relationship, 306 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,360 a worrying new ingredient is spotted in the mix. 307 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,240 [Emma] I became aware that Mitchell took drugs. 308 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:12,200 There were drugs all over the house. 309 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:16,200 He quite openly offered me drugs many, many times. 310 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:20,040 In fact, he would boast about the drugs that he had in the flat, 311 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:22,840 and he would often offer them to Katie. 312 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,040 Katie would say that she didn't want to take any, 313 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:27,480 but he would then laugh in her face, 314 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:30,840 and just really humiliate her for not wanting to take them. 315 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:34,120 The drugs made him extremely paranoid. 316 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:36,760 [tense music playing] 317 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:38,760 So from the beginning of the night 318 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:40,640 where he would very much be the gracious host, 319 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:43,200 you know, offering drinks, playing games, 320 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:47,640 and then as soon as the drugs came out, he would become paranoid and angry, 321 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,080 and try and control everybody in the room. 322 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:52,560 He would humiliate Katie, 323 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,040 he would call her names, he would spit at her, 324 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:58,280 and all because she didn't wanna take the drugs with him. 325 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:04,360 [Julie] I think drugs, and Mitchell, and alcohol were an incredibly bad mix. 326 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,960 The minute the drink, or the drugs, or the combination started, 327 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:09,280 he would become very aggressive. 328 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:10,800 He'd become very paranoid. 329 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:13,080 He'd check her phone three, four, five times a day. 330 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:15,400 He would always say, "Oh, are you wearing that? 331 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:17,520 What's that for? Who are you going to see?" 332 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,120 He accused her of sleeping with his friends. 333 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:24,240 Oh, always, he was paranoid, absolutely paranoid. 334 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:29,120 [Rebecca] That level of obsession is extremely dangerous. 335 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:33,640 That raises any stakes in an investigation to huge. 336 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:36,080 It is a huge warning sign. 337 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:40,200 [tense music continues] 338 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:43,960 [narrator] As Mitchell's apparent paranoia deepens, 339 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,480 the family believes that his grip on Katie's life tightens. 340 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:49,600 [Emma] Mitchell would control her money. 341 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:52,280 He would control what she was allowed to wear, 342 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:54,200 whether she could shave her legs, 343 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:56,440 whether she could buy new clothes, 344 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,360 whether she was allowed to drive her car. 345 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:00,880 If she stepped out of line, 346 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,000 he would do things like cancel her car insurance, 347 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:06,720 or smash her phone so that she couldn't contact anybody. 348 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:09,640 [narrator] And Mitchell insists 349 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:13,760 on knowing his girlfriend's location 24 hours a day. 350 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:15,560 [Julie] He put a tracker on her phone, 351 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:20,320 and he sold this idea to Katie, so that he would know that she was safe. 352 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,440 [Rebecca] It's the ultimate irony in this situation, isn't it? 353 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:25,480 He's put a tracker on her phone to keep her safe 354 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:28,240 when the only person she needs protecting from is him. 355 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:30,040 [narrator] Even with the tracker, 356 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:33,160 Mitchell continues to suspect Katie is cheating on him. 357 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,120 [Julie] Mitchell then lost his job, 358 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:40,960 because he was coming home to check where she was all of the time. 359 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:43,080 [Rebecca] This is a dangerous scenario, this is, 360 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:47,960 because all Mitchell is doing is making Katie his sole priority. 361 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:50,200 He's lost his job, 362 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:52,280 because he's spending all his time following her. 363 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:54,760 He is obsessed with her. 364 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:56,280 He's a dangerous man, 365 00:16:56,360 --> 00:17:01,520 but a dangerous person that then forms this obsession with someone, 366 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:03,280 that is only gonna end one way. 367 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:05,560 [tense music continues] 368 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:08,760 [narrator] Katie's family tried to persuade her to leave Mitchell, 369 00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:10,280 but she refuses. 370 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:13,920 [Julie] My husband and I quite often talked about kidnapping her, 371 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:18,119 taking her away, breaking that mind control. 372 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:21,960 But that would've been, we would've been making her choose. 373 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:24,880 And to make her choose between him and her, we would've lost. 374 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,200 As hard as this is to say, 375 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:30,480 it was better to allow her to choose to go back to him, 376 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,400 knowing that she'd be back a few days later 377 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:37,240 than to risk saying, "You have to choose, Katie." 378 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:38,920 We would never have seen her. 379 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,240 I wanted to keep some form of contact with her. 380 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:45,840 [Rebecca] He has got control over that whole family. 381 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:49,600 Julie, too scared to bring anything up, 382 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:54,880 in case that he stops the contact between Julie and Katie, 383 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:57,520 because he's already done that with everyone else in her life. 384 00:17:57,600 --> 00:17:59,360 So why shouldn't she think she is next? 385 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:03,720 So not only is Katie treading on these eggshells all the time, 386 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:05,560 Julie is as well. 387 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:10,440 This man is affecting everyone like a parasite in her life. 388 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:13,480 [narrator] Just over a year after meeting Mitchell, 389 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,800 having suffered many months of isolation and abuse, 390 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:20,000 Katie tells her sister why she hasn't ended the relationship. 391 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:22,000 [tense music continues] 392 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:24,680 [Emma] During one night when I was around for a party, 393 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:25,800 and he'd flipped out, 394 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:28,800 I managed to get her on her own for about two minutes, 395 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,680 and she broke down, and she told me she was afraid of him, 396 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:34,040 and that she didn't know how to get away from him. 397 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,840 And when I asked her why she'd never told me this before, 398 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,080 she said that she was trying to protect me. 399 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:42,280 And I told her it was my job to protect her. 400 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:45,960 [tense music continues] 401 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:48,880 [narrator] 15 months into their relationship, 402 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,640 Mitchell takes Katie on holiday. 403 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:53,280 [tense music continues] 404 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:55,440 Her family hoped that a change of scenery 405 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:58,440 might make for a change in Mitchell's behavior. 406 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:01,360 [Emma] Mitchell took Katie to Egypt for her 21st birthday, 407 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:03,640 and Katie was very, very excited. 408 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:05,920 [Julie] I think she was looking forward to the holiday, 409 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:07,280 because she thought he would relax. 410 00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:08,760 And when he was relaxed, they got on, 411 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:11,200 or, you know, the relationship was easier. 412 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:13,800 [narrator] It may have been a change of scene, 413 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:15,960 but it was the same old story. 414 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:17,040 [tense music continues] 415 00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:20,520 That evening when they arrived on her twenty-first birthday 416 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:23,800 in front of other guests at the hotel, 417 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:26,320 he punched her in the face, and gave her a black eye. 418 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:30,040 She spent the majority of the holiday with thick makeup on, 419 00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:32,400 trying to cover a black eye. 420 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:36,520 Again, she said that she'd moved. He hadn't meant to hit her. 421 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:38,080 That was a usual excuse. 422 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:40,240 He was aiming for the wall and she got in the way. 423 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:42,280 And then, after that, 424 00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:43,960 the violence seemed to get worse and worse. 425 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:45,440 [tense music continues] 426 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:48,360 [narrator] On the evening of October 8th, 427 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:52,560 Mitchell finds a dress in Katie's bag that he thinks is nightwear, 428 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:56,080 making him suspect, wrongly, that she's cheating on him. 429 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:57,360 He's angry. 430 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:02,560 His use of alcohol and drugs is about to make for a dangerous cocktail. 431 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:05,680 [Julie] He started to drink and he started to take tablets. 432 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:07,080 He took a quantity of Valium, 433 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:10,280 drank a lot of a bottle of Jack Daniels, 434 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:13,640 threatening to throw himself off the balcony if she left. 435 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:14,920 [Rebecca] What he has taken this evening, 436 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:18,360 this cocktail of alcohol and illegal substance, 437 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:21,040 is a recipe for disaster. 438 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:27,560 And what follows is this unprovoked attack on Katie. 439 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:29,240 [tense music continues] 440 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:31,040 [Julie] It was in the early hours of the morning 441 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:33,240 that the neighbors called the police, 442 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:37,280 because they said for the first time they were frightened for Katie's life. 443 00:20:37,360 --> 00:20:40,000 And he was arrested and taken into police custody. 444 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:41,960 [tense music continues] 445 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:45,600 [Emma] My mum actually informed me of what had happened, 446 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:49,160 and I was devastated, and angry, 447 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:51,280 and all of the emotions, really, 448 00:20:51,360 --> 00:20:54,080 because I felt like, you know, she was my baby sister, 449 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,080 and I wanted to protect her, and I couldn't. 450 00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:58,960 So yeah, it was really heartbreaking. 451 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:01,480 [tense music playing] 452 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:06,000 [narrator] During his police interview, Mitchell Richardson refuses to cooperate. 453 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:08,480 [officer 1] Can you tell me where you were last night? 454 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:09,920 No comment to that. 455 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:12,760 [officer] Okay, can you tell me who you were with last night? 456 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:14,200 No comment. 457 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:16,560 [officer] Can you remember what happened last night? 458 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:18,520 I'm just gonna say no comment. 459 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,360 I can't really remember, so no comment. 460 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:24,640 [narrator] Crucial to a case that police could build against Richardson 461 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,080 would be any evidence Katie could offer. 462 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:31,320 However, she decides not to take the matter any further. 463 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,920 [Emma] I believe she didn't make any formal complaint against him, 464 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:36,160 mostly out of fear. 465 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:39,320 At this point, you know, he was almost all she had, 466 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,480 or that's how he made her believe. 467 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:44,720 I still believe, at this point, she loved him, 468 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:47,680 and believed that he would change for her. 469 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:52,840 And I still believe, at this point, she had hope he would change. 470 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:54,960 [narrator] But whilst Mitchell is in custody, 471 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:58,040 Katie decides to move out of their shared flat, 472 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:00,160 and into her own place. 473 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:01,840 [tense music continues] 474 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:04,280 [Julie] I can't begin to tell you how amazing it was 475 00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:05,600 to think that she was finally, 476 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:08,920 her decision, not being forced into it by anybody, 477 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:10,720 she was making the decision to leave. 478 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,760 It was incredible, and it was gonna be fantastic, 479 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:15,600 and the start of a whole new life. 480 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:19,800 [Emma] So when Katie first moved into her new flat, 481 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:21,320 it was kept a secret, 482 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:23,320 so that it was very much a safe house, 483 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:26,160 and a panic alarm was fitted at the flat. 484 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:27,600 And Katie did seem happier. 485 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,120 She did start seeing friends again, 486 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:33,400 she started messaging a bit more, and she was looking for work, 487 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:35,800 and just really looking to the future. 488 00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:40,440 I truly believe that we had the chance to protect her and keep her safe. 489 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:45,520 [narrator] Mitchell Richardson is released by police on bail, 490 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:49,400 on condition that he must not contact Katie or her family. 491 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:51,040 Will he comply? 492 00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:53,240 Is Katie now safe? 493 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:56,280 [Julie] He was released, and within hours, 494 00:22:57,560 --> 00:22:58,920 he was on the phone to Katie... 495 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,880 [phone buzzing] 496 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:02,880 ...demanding to know where she was. 497 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:04,760 So she blocked his number, 498 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:08,400 and he immediately started to phone me. 499 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:11,360 And he was desperate for information about where she was. 500 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,320 I said to him that I was really quite worried about her, 501 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,680 you know, if he stopped all of this and he got help, 502 00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:17,960 then she might come back, 503 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,360 'cause I said, "She loves you, she loves you." 504 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:24,560 But he laughed, and he said that she would come back anyway. 505 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:26,240 I said I was worried, you know, 506 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:30,600 I said, "I'm frightened for you, for Katie, of you." 507 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:32,880 And he laughed, and said, "Well, you're probably right." 508 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:35,840 It was a horrible conversation. 509 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,840 And one of the last things he said to me before I ended the conversation was, 510 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:40,960 "Well, you know, I could easily kill her with drugs, 511 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:42,160 and you'd never prove it." 512 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:43,720 [tense music continues] 513 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:45,000 [Rebecca] What is concerning here 514 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:49,560 is not just that he's making threats to kill Katie now, 515 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:53,720 but he's describing how he's gonna do it in a way that he could get away with it. 516 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:54,920 [tense music continues] 517 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:57,320 [Emma] I truly believed he was going to kill her. 518 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:00,920 [tense music continues] 519 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,000 [birds chirping] 520 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:06,720 [narrator] Mitchell Richardson has breached 521 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,520 his bail conditions by contacting Katie. 522 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:11,400 So her mother alerts the police, 523 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:14,000 and demands that they find her daughter. 524 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:17,120 But neither Katie nor Mitchell can be found. 525 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:21,640 I tried all morning to get hold of Katie, and her phone was switched off. 526 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:25,080 So eventually I tried Mitchell, his phone was switched off. 527 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,000 Been to the flat, nobody there. 528 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:30,320 So I'd gone early to the police station, 529 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:32,600 and told them that I was genuinely worried. 530 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:36,000 I got a call from my mum to say that they were both missing, 531 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:37,440 and I was actually at uni at the time, 532 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:40,680 so I left uni, and we all went out searching for her. 533 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:42,200 [tense music continues] 534 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:45,280 [narrator] The search continues for two days. 535 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:48,360 [Julie] Everybody, the police as well, were out looking for them, 536 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:49,360 couldn't find them. 537 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:52,400 And I was convinced that something terrible had happened. 538 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:54,400 [tense music continues] 539 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:56,120 [narrator] Five days after Mitchell Richardson 540 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:59,360 was released on bail and told not to contact Katie, 541 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:03,480 police receive information that he's holding her hostage at his flat. 542 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:04,640 [tense music continues] 543 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:07,040 When the police forced the door open, 544 00:25:07,120 --> 00:25:09,840 Mitchell had heard them as well, and he just sat in an armchair. 545 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:11,360 It was a tiny little room, 546 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:12,440 [tense music continues] 547 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:13,440 waiting. 548 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:15,040 [tense music continues] 549 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:17,480 Katie was on the bed on the pillows, 550 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:19,240 sort of all crunched up, 551 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:22,160 and they arrested him and took him away. 552 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:23,400 [tense music continues] 553 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:25,960 He'd held her there all night, beating her black and blue. 554 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:28,600 And when I got there, I barely recognized my own child. 555 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:30,680 Lots of bruises. 556 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,280 So the police officer said to her, 557 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:39,040 "Katie, we really need you to give some evidence to stop this." 558 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:40,120 So that's what we did. 559 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:42,000 We took her straight to the police station. 560 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:48,520 I've never ever been so proud of her as I was on that day. 561 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:54,160 And she was very brave enough to decide to do a video statement 562 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:57,400 of what had happened the night before. 563 00:25:57,480 --> 00:25:58,800 He called me... 564 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:02,040 saying that he had nowhere to stay. 565 00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:05,280 He said that he was really cold, and I felt sorry for him. 566 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:08,920 So I've said, "Come back to mine," in the end. 567 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,360 [Julie] She looked so young and vulnerable. 568 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:12,960 You can tell she's nervous, 569 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:17,320 but yes, it's emotional seeing her so vulnerable. 570 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:20,040 [narrator] Katie tells the police, that once inside her flat, 571 00:26:20,120 --> 00:26:22,960 Mitchell began to accuse her of cheating on him, 572 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:25,480 and became increasingly angry. 573 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,080 He was spitting on the floor, he was spitting on me. 574 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:31,320 And then he actually passed me my phone, 575 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:32,760 and said, "Go call the police then." 576 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:34,360 And I was like, "Okay." 577 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:36,520 So I was about to do it, and he was like, 578 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:38,640 "Well, let's see how fast they can get here. 579 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:41,120 Because by the time they get here, I'll kill you." 580 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:43,120 And said, "Whoever comes through the door, 581 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:45,520 I'll do the same to them. With a knife." 582 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:48,520 I thought I was going to die, basically. 583 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:52,400 Because, obviously, him saying that he wants to kill someone 584 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,240 and that he hates me, I thought he could do it. 585 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:56,840 [Julie] She thought he could do it. 586 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:00,200 I am sorry, that's really hard to hear. 587 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:02,960 He went like that, and obviously blasted my nose 588 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,880 which made my nose completely pour blood. 589 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,240 And he held me against the bed for quite a while. 590 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:11,920 He was like holding me like that. 591 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:12,960 [interviewer] Okay. 592 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:15,040 And I couldn't breathe, basically. 593 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:20,800 [Julie] It's just really horrible to think that this 33-year-old man 594 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,520 could do that to my 21-year-old child. 595 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:25,560 I said to him, "Mitch, I'm genuinely scared of you now, 596 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:27,080 can you please get out of my house?" 597 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:29,440 I couldn't believe someone that I thought loved me 598 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:30,520 would do that to me. 599 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:33,440 [Julie] It's heartbreaking hearing her little voice, 600 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:37,120 telling of this beatings, and of how he controlled her, 601 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,560 and how he told her he was going to kill her. 602 00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:44,360 And again, she's asking him to go, and he's just not listening. 603 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:47,320 [tense music continues] 604 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:49,920 Gosh, to see her, [coughing], sorry. 605 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,040 [tense music continues] 606 00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:56,000 [narrator] Mitchell Richardson's threats don't stop there. 607 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,720 Basically, said that he's going to go round to my mum's 608 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:02,120 and kick the door down, 609 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,080 and, basically, well, hurt her, 610 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:07,240 and at one point, he said that he's going to slit her throat. 611 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:11,000 I just couldn't believe the way he was talking about my mum. 612 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:13,920 She's always, you know, been civil to him. 613 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,320 And I was genuinely scared at one point that he was going to go. 614 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:21,480 She's scared that he's gonna come and hurt me while she's being strangled. 615 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:25,480 [tense music continues] 616 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:29,400 She still wasn't thinking of herself, was she? 617 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:32,040 And that's when the police came. 618 00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:35,320 And that was the biggest relief, it really was. 619 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:37,160 [Emma] If they hadn't arrived when they had, 620 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:38,520 Katie would've been dead. 621 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:40,720 [tense music continues] 622 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:42,080 [narrator] During the interview, 623 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,240 the police questioned Katie about her relationship with Richardson. 624 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:47,360 I've almost sort of like... 625 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:50,240 gone into a little bubble with him where it's just me and him. 626 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:54,000 And that's my normality, if that makes sense. 627 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:56,440 First relationship, my first proper boyfriend. 628 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:58,240 I've never let my guard down to anyone. 629 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:01,960 And I felt like he was the only one that understood me. 630 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:03,720 I still do love him, you know? 631 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:06,600 He's got the most genuine heart ever. 632 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,280 And I love it. I get emotional. 633 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:12,280 But, obviously, he has got a drug problem. 634 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:17,720 And when he is on drugs, he's just a different person. 635 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:22,600 And when he does take cocaine, he is very paranoid, 636 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:25,480 his, like, psychosis... 637 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,040 He'd hit me, and then he'd step back, and he'd hit me again 638 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:29,400 to teach me a lesson. 639 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:31,360 That's what he always says, to teach me a lesson. 640 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:34,200 [tense music continues] 641 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:35,760 Sorry, I have no words for that. 642 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:40,720 And to hit her to teach her a lesson, not just once, but over and over. 643 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:42,880 What sort of a man does that? 644 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:45,760 You know, he says, you know, "I'll buy you everything you want." 645 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,000 But I don't care about the money, 646 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:51,280 I like sort of just want like a healthy relationship. 647 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:54,240 I mean, like 90% of the time, he treats me well. 648 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:58,480 It's just when, it's just literally the drugs, that's it. 649 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:00,400 And his anger problems. 650 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,240 He has got anger issues, as well as drug issues. 651 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:04,520 [Julie] She's right. 652 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:08,760 I've seen him switch from towering over me raging, 653 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:12,080 to it was almost like a light bulb and it would switch off. 654 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,280 He was very much a Jekyll and Hyde. 655 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:17,880 [Emma] I knew that even though she loved him, 656 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:21,280 and this was probably the most hardest thing she'd ever done, 657 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:24,200 but she was so brave to speak out and tell the truth, 658 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:27,000 and just be honest about what was really going on. 659 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:30,920 [Julie] It was heartbreaking to see it and to watch it. 660 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:34,000 But I'm very proud of the fact that she did get her chance 661 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:35,600 to tell her story properly. 662 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:38,840 [tense music continues] 663 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:42,640 [narrator] A few hours later, detectives question Mitchell Richardson. 664 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:45,680 [officer] You've been arrested on suspicion of assault. 665 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:47,200 I thought to myself, 666 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:49,640 "She's obviously going off to sleep with someone." 667 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:52,000 And I was high and [beep] up at the time. 668 00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:55,080 Sorry, just seeing that man's face. 669 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:56,920 Did you say you'll stab her? 670 00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:59,400 No, I didn't say I'll stab my girlfriend. 671 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:01,840 -[officer] Sure? -Yes, I'm sure. 672 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:04,120 [officer] And you didn't say you'd stab anyone that comes through the door? 673 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:06,600 No, I just wanted to die, mate, to be honest with you. 674 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:08,200 I'll be honest with you, I wanted to [beep] die. 675 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:12,720 I wanted to take an overdose and die. I'd had enough of life, everything. 676 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:14,840 [tense music continues] 677 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:17,360 I still wanna die right now. 678 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:20,080 You know, you let me out, I'm gonna [beep] kill myself. 679 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:24,320 We'd have a perfect relationship if there was no cocaine in my system. 680 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:26,640 If we're sober, we're amazing together. 681 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:30,840 [tense music continues] 682 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:32,800 I love her so much. 683 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:35,160 [Julie] He's beaten her, he's held her overnight, 684 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:37,440 he's tortured her, he's strangled her, 685 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:41,120 he's cut her lip, and there is no remorse. 686 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:44,440 All he's thinking about there is himself, 687 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:46,960 that I haven't heard one thing where he's said, 688 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:50,640 "I'm sorry, I know I've done wrong. How is she?" 689 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:53,080 There's no concern about Katie whatsoever. 690 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:56,240 It's all about him and what's happening to him. 691 00:31:57,240 --> 00:31:58,880 Just to see his face, 692 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:02,400 and to see the smirk on his face just makes me so angry. 693 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:04,960 [tense music continues] 694 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:08,400 [narrator] In court, Richardson pleads guilty 695 00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:10,960 to causing criminal damage, resisting arrest, 696 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:12,920 and two counts of assault. 697 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:17,000 He will be sentenced six weeks later. 698 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:20,280 Despite previously breaching his bail conditions, 699 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:22,960 he is, again, released on bail. 700 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:25,520 [Sue] I can't see why he was given bail. 701 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:28,000 I don't understand why he was given bail. 702 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:30,040 If he was dangerous, 703 00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:31,680 he should have just been held on remand. 704 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:34,520 I was always worried that Mitchell would have a hold over her, 705 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:37,360 but he had a sentence hearing not long after, 706 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:38,880 and he was going to prison. 707 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:42,360 And so I believe that if we could keep her safe until that point, 708 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,160 then after that, we could help her rebuild her life, 709 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:47,240 and she would be happy again. 710 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:49,000 [tense music continues] 711 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:52,760 [Sue] Julie was very concerned for Katie, very concerned. 712 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:55,920 She said to me, I'm so worried he's gonna kill her. 713 00:32:56,920 --> 00:32:59,360 And it was one of those throwaway comments. 714 00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:03,000 But you didn't actually think that anything would happen. 715 00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:05,720 [tense music continues] 716 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:07,440 [suspenseful music playing] 717 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:10,320 [narrator] For two weeks after the arrest, all seems well. 718 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:13,760 [Julie] After he'd been released on bail from the court, 719 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:16,560 we believed that there was a time that they weren't in touch 720 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:17,960 and Katie was back to her, 721 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:20,440 or building herself back to her usual self. 722 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:24,120 She was starting to come back to us. 723 00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:26,280 It was absolutely lovely to see that. 724 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:27,640 [tense music playing] 725 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:31,920 [narrator] But after a few weeks, Katie stops taking her mum's calls. 726 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:35,080 It's a deeply worrying development for the family. 727 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:37,640 Is Richardson back in her life? 728 00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:41,360 I sent her a message to say, "I am starting to get worried. 729 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,960 You know, we haven't heard properly, haven't seen you for a few days. 730 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:46,320 Can we meet?" 731 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:48,320 "Yep, yep, we'll definitely meet, definitely meet." 732 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:50,560 And she canceled that one. 733 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:52,480 [tense music continues] 734 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:54,360 She kept assuring me she was safe. 735 00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:56,920 So we got to Emma's birthday on the 14th, 736 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:00,360 and she'd still been in touch, but just very small, quick text messages. 737 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:03,000 [tense music continues] 738 00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:05,680 And I spoke to Emma, and Emma hadn't heard from her. 739 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:09,159 And that's when at quarter past seven that evening, 740 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:10,840 the police knocked on the door. 741 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:13,040 [tense music continues] 742 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:16,880 And I don't really remember a great deal after that. 743 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:20,639 I remember bits until Andy picked me up off the floor, 744 00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:23,800 and I remember I could hear this noise, and I've heard people say it before, 745 00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:25,800 and I thought, "Stupid." 746 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:28,719 I could hear this noise. It was like a howling. 747 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:29,960 And it was me. 748 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:33,800 And he picked me up off the floor, 749 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:37,400 [tense music continues] 750 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:41,920 and the policeman left. 751 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,360 [tense music continues] 752 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:47,560 All we were told on that night 753 00:34:47,639 --> 00:34:50,400 was that Katie and Mitchell had been found both dead. 754 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:52,880 [tense music continues] 755 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:54,520 [Emma] So this one police officer, 756 00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:57,600 he put his arm out to stop me from entering the flat. 757 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:01,880 And I just cried, and said, "Is it my sister? Is it my sister?" 758 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:04,680 And his only answer, at that point, was, 759 00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:06,040 "You need to leave, 760 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:07,840 because we're about to bring their dead bodies out." 761 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:09,680 [tense music continues] 762 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:13,160 Hearing those words just absolutely broke me. 763 00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:17,200 I can't even begin to explain the pain that I felt. 764 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:19,600 Sorry, I'm gonna get emotional now. 765 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:23,000 But also the guilt that I felt, because she was my baby sister, 766 00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:24,880 and I was supposed to protect her, 767 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:27,640 and I promised her that I would look after her, 768 00:35:27,720 --> 00:35:29,600 and that nothing bad would happen to her. 769 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:34,320 And knowing that I couldn't keep that promise is always just hurt. 770 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,320 [tense music continues] 771 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:38,560 [Sue] Katie did leave him. 772 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:40,160 Eventually, she left him. 773 00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:41,920 She did all the right things. 774 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:43,560 She got her own place, 775 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:45,280 she said she'd got her panic alarms. 776 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:48,640 She did everything that she should have done correctly, 777 00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:52,400 but still, somehow, he managed to get to her. 778 00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:56,080 [tense music continues] 779 00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:57,640 [narrator] So what had happened? 780 00:35:57,720 --> 00:36:01,520 Had Katie been killed before Mitchell had taken his own life? 781 00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:03,560 There is a mystery to solve. 782 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:07,480 [Julie] Very soon afterwards, we were told that this was, 783 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:10,600 it was drugs overdose. 784 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:13,240 And when I asked about, What about the domestic violence? 785 00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:16,120 What about the threats to kill? What about all of that?" 786 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:19,000 They said to me, "Julie, it's drugs. 787 00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:21,800 That's it, that's the end of it, that's what it is, it's drugs." 788 00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:23,960 They did an investigation, 789 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:26,680 but they did an investigation based on the fact 790 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:29,400 that it was the drugs that killed my daughter. 791 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:31,600 [narrator] As the news spreads through the community, 792 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:35,320 theories emerge as to why the couple might have taken an overdose. 793 00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:39,240 [Julie] What was put on social media about Katie and Mitchell 794 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:43,400 was that it had been a "Romeo and Juliet" scenario 795 00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:47,240 where they had been told by the police that they had to stay apart. 796 00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:49,080 Mitchell was on bail. 797 00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:51,240 They weren't allowed to spend time together. 798 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:55,600 So they decided, in their wisdom, to take their own lives. 799 00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:58,280 Can you imagine how that felt? 800 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:03,920 How my daughters felt knowing the extent of how much he'd beaten her, 801 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:05,560 how much he'd hurt her, 802 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:09,400 how brave it was of her to leave in the first place. 803 00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:11,880 It was heartbreaking. 804 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:15,240 [tense music continues] 805 00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:18,160 [Emma] There's never been one point that I've ever felt 806 00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:21,880 that it was a suicide pact, or that she chose to die with him. 807 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,320 Knowing my sister my whole life, 808 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:29,360 it's just never something that she would do. 809 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:30,480 Katie had left him. 810 00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:33,080 She was trying to start a new life without him, 811 00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:35,240 you know, she was looking to the future, 812 00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:40,040 she was starting to be Katie again, and she didn't want to die. 813 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:41,880 That was not what she wanted. 814 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:44,200 [Sue] Katie would never have done it. 815 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:45,520 She would never have left Julie. 816 00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:48,680 She would never have left Emma, or her sisters. 817 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:50,320 She just wouldn't have done it. 818 00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:51,880 She had too much to live for. 819 00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:53,160 [tense music playing] 820 00:37:53,240 --> 00:37:58,040 [narrator] Katie's family don't believe that she died of an accidental overdose. 821 00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:01,480 They suspect Richardson played a part in her death. 822 00:38:01,560 --> 00:38:02,640 Just a few weeks earlier, 823 00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:06,080 he had threatened to kill her with drugs, and we would never prove it. 824 00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:09,520 And a few weeks later, they're both found side by side 825 00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:12,880 in the exact manner that he told me he would do it. 826 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:16,200 In Katie's own interview, with her own words, 827 00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:18,920 tells how Mitchell has told her he will kill her. 828 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:21,160 I thought I was going to die, basically. 829 00:38:21,240 --> 00:38:22,840 And I thought he could do it. 830 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:24,720 I don't believe in coincidences. 831 00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:28,360 [narrator] A coroner holds a joint inquest. 832 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,640 She concludes that both Katie and Mitchell died 833 00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:34,600 from an overdose of cocaine and morphine. 834 00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:39,200 But the coroner is unable to determine how and why they took the drugs. 835 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:41,680 So Katie's family begin a campaign 836 00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:46,040 demanding that the authorities hold a domestic homicide review. 837 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:47,800 [Emma] So a domestic homicide review is 838 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:51,280 when agencies come together to review what happened 839 00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:52,960 up until the point of death, 840 00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:55,600 to see whether lessons can be learned, 841 00:38:55,680 --> 00:38:57,560 and to see what went wrong, 842 00:38:57,640 --> 00:39:00,960 and to make recommendations for the future. 843 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:04,160 [narrator] Such a review can only take place 844 00:39:04,240 --> 00:39:09,000 when a death appears to have resulted from violence, abuse, or neglect 845 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:12,240 by a person to whom the deceased was either related 846 00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:16,280 or had been in an intimate personal relationship with. 847 00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:19,640 It's a codified part of the justice system. 848 00:39:19,720 --> 00:39:21,160 Over the next two years, 849 00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:24,360 the family's request for a domestic homicide review 850 00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:27,640 is rejected three times. 851 00:39:27,720 --> 00:39:30,880 It was extremely difficult to get a domestic homicide review, 852 00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:33,520 because, at the time, they didn't see it as a murder, 853 00:39:33,600 --> 00:39:36,640 and therefore told us that we didn't fit the criteria. 854 00:39:36,720 --> 00:39:38,800 [narrator] But in December 2020, 855 00:39:38,880 --> 00:39:42,000 a domestic homicide review is finally granted. 856 00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:44,240 [tense music playing] 857 00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:48,440 [Sue] For Julie to get the domestic homicide review was extremely difficult. 858 00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:51,760 But she really did come out fighting for this. 859 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:56,520 And yeah, she was amazing, absolutely amazing. 860 00:39:56,600 --> 00:39:57,840 So proud of her. 861 00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:01,560 It just meant that finally people were acknowledging 862 00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:05,360 that Katie died, and had been a victim of domestic abuse, 863 00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:09,600 that might not have caused her actual physical heart to stop, 864 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:12,120 but she was a victim of domestic abuse. 865 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:14,480 [narrator] Katie's family is still waiting 866 00:40:14,560 --> 00:40:17,200 for the outcome of the review into her case. 867 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:20,240 [Sue] It was getting somebody, the authorities, 868 00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:24,240 to recognize that this hadn't simply been a drug death, 869 00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:27,280 that there was something more to this, 870 00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:30,160 and that it warranted being looked into. 871 00:40:30,240 --> 00:40:32,840 [suspenseful music playing] 872 00:40:33,720 --> 00:40:38,800 [Julie] My theory on Katie's death is that Mitchell knew he had lost control of her. 873 00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:40,840 She'd left him. 874 00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:44,800 And I think that, in the last week or two before her death, 875 00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:47,240 he started to woo her again, 876 00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:51,560 and started to get to see her again. 877 00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:56,920 And I believe he planned to take my daughter's life, 878 00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:58,480 and to kill himself. 879 00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:02,520 [Emma] He was due to be sentenced only a couple of weeks later, 880 00:41:02,600 --> 00:41:05,440 and knowing his previous criminal record 881 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:07,640 for violence against both men and women, 882 00:41:07,720 --> 00:41:10,240 he was gonna go to prison for a long time. 883 00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:13,600 And I believe he decided that he would rather die 884 00:41:13,680 --> 00:41:16,000 and take her with her than face prison. 885 00:41:16,080 --> 00:41:18,960 [Rebecca] I think the only two people that are gonna know 886 00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:21,840 what happened that night are Katie and Mitchell. 887 00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:25,240 We can speculate, we can assume. 888 00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:28,240 You look at Mitchell's track record, you look at Katie's, 889 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:31,880 and I think there is a clear sign of what actually took place there. 890 00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:33,560 But will it ever be proved? 891 00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:36,880 [tense music playing] 892 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:40,400 I come back here 893 00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:44,520 because this is the place that we sent Katie to the stars. 894 00:41:44,600 --> 00:41:48,680 She was too young to go into a box in a dark hole in the ground. 895 00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:51,040 So we put her ashes into fireworks, 896 00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:53,440 and sent them off from the headland here. 897 00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:57,120 So she'll travel the world around in the sea. 898 00:41:57,200 --> 00:42:01,280 I bring these flowers because they're called baby's breath. 899 00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:03,080 Katie was my baby. 900 00:42:03,160 --> 00:42:04,840 So these flowers are for her. 901 00:42:06,280 --> 00:42:07,720 [somber music playing] 902 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:10,520 Katie dying will never, there'll never be a reason, 903 00:42:10,600 --> 00:42:12,520 it'll never be a good thing. 904 00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:14,400 But if we tell her story, 905 00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:18,280 and one woman listens and gets out, 906 00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:20,920 that's a legacy. And that means that she'll live on. 907 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:26,080 There is a pattern for women out there, and if we can only recognize it, 908 00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:27,880 I think we could intervene much sooner. 909 00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:31,960 And if I had been aware of this, and been able to pick up the signs, 910 00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:33,840 then maybe we could have intervened. 911 00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:37,160 I've said it over and over, she was 21, 912 00:42:37,240 --> 00:42:41,720 beautiful, young, loved, good job, hardworking. 913 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:45,520 If it can happen to Katie, it can happen to anybody. 914 00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:49,520 [somber music continues] 915 00:42:49,600 --> 00:42:52,000 [Emma] I miss everything about my little sister. 916 00:42:52,080 --> 00:42:54,160 She really was my best friend. 917 00:42:55,600 --> 00:42:58,800 So I feel like she lost her life far too early, 918 00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:01,440 and she had so much to give in this world, 919 00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:04,080 and there were so many things that she still wanted to do. 920 00:43:04,160 --> 00:43:07,320 And knowing she'll never get the chance to do that, 921 00:43:07,760 --> 00:43:09,520 just, yeah, it's really sad. 922 00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:14,920 She was just on the cusp of adulthood, 923 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:18,080 and all the things that, you know, we've all experienced. 924 00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:19,520 And she'll never have that. 925 00:43:19,600 --> 00:43:21,880 She'll never get married, she'll never have children, 926 00:43:22,520 --> 00:43:25,200 she'll never have that. It's all just been taken off her. 927 00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:27,680 Do I hate Mitchell? 928 00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:30,960 No, because I'm not gonna waste an amount of energy on him. 929 00:43:32,640 --> 00:43:36,680 But I do hate what he did to my daughter when she was alive. 930 00:43:36,760 --> 00:43:38,200 [somber music continues] 931 00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:39,680 [exhaling] 932 00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:42,840 Do I think Katie would still be alive if she hadn't met Mitchell? 933 00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:44,600 Yes, absolutely. 934 00:43:44,680 --> 00:43:47,120 [somber music continues] 935 00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:50,640 I wish more than anything that I could turn back time, 936 00:43:50,720 --> 00:43:53,120 and stop that initial meeting, 937 00:43:53,920 --> 00:43:56,640 because then I'd still have my baby sister here. 938 00:43:56,720 --> 00:44:00,360 [somber music continues] 939 00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:04,920 [dramatic music playing]