An inquest has found that police errors and inaction contributed to the deaths of Fiona Pilkington, 38, and her severely disabled daughter Francecca, 18, whose bodies were discovered in a blazing car on a layby in October 2007. The jury concluded that the failure of Leicestershire Police to link dozens of calls for help over seven years partly drove the vulnerable single mother to take her own life and that of her daughter.
Pilkington had contacted police 33 times in that period, reporting youths throwing stones and shouting abuse that had effectively made her a prisoner in her own home in Barwell, near Hinckley. On the night of 23 October 2007, she set fire to her blue Austin Maestro with herself and Francecca inside. The inquest heard that Francecca had a mental age of about four, and Pilkington likely brought the family pet rabbit to comfort her.
The jury specifically blamed the police for not linking or prioritising the calls. The Independent Police Complaints Commission has since launched an investigation into how seriously the force responded to Pilkington's pleas. Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council was also held partly accountable for failing to take action against the young gangs, and social services were criticised for not referring Pilkington for professional help after she expressed suicidal thoughts.
Coroner Olivia Davison said she would write to the Ministry of Justice and the council, expressing concern about the process for gathering information from victims of antisocial behaviour. The jury noted that poor information sharing between police and councils contributed to the deaths, though it also observed that Pilkington had not always sought or accepted help.
The inquest revealed that the abuse, which included taunts about the children's disabilities, was not treated as a hate crime, which would have made it a higher priority. At the time, Leicestershire Police had not implemented Home Office guidance on hate crimes issued two years earlier. The case has prompted widespread criticism of the handling of antisocial behaviour complaints.
