Joshua Jacques: ‘Serious failings’ in probation’s handling of quadruple murderer, watchdog finds
There were “serious failings” in the Probation Service’s handling of a drug dealer who murdered his girlfriend and three of her family members, a watchdog has found.
Joshua Jacques, 29, was jailed for life, with a minimum sentence of 46 years, at the Old Bailey last week after stabbing to death Samantha Drummonds and her relatives at their home in Bermondsey, south London, in April 2022 – five months after he was released from jail.
He claimed he had killed Ms Drummonds, 27, her mother Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and Ms Hill’s partner, Denton Burke, 58, as a “sacrifice” after their bodies were discovered by police.
Mr Justice Bryan said he had committed the “horrific catalogue of murders” after abusing skunk cannabis, of which he was “well aware” of the impact on his mental health and contributed to his offending.
Jacques was on probation at the time, having been released on licence on 11 November 2022 from a 51-month prison sentence in 2019 for supplying Class A drugs and possession of Class B drugs.
After carrying out an independent review of how the Probation Service managed Jacques, Chief Inspector of Probation Martin Jones said “there were serious failings” in his supervision.
“Despite concerns about repeated non-compliance with his licence conditions, enforcement practice was inconsistent and opportunities to recall Jacques to custody were missed,” he said.
A condition to engage in drug abuse intervention was not organised and Jacques regularly used cannabis while on probation, the review found.
Probation officers were aware of Jacques’ mental health history, including that he had been sectioned in 2018 and he had reported random aggression as a symptom of a decline in his mental health.
“In February 2022, Jacques disclosed to probation court staff that he was experiencing a decline in his mental health; however, no action was taken,” said Mr Jones.
Court sketch of Joshua Jacques. Pic: PA
Before his release, Jacques was assessed as posing a high risk of serious harm to the public but his risk to staff or potential partners was “underestimated” and no risk assessment was completed after he was freed.
The review found Jacques was wrongly allocated a newly qualified probation officer who had finished their training just three months earlier, and that there was “insufficient” management and “a lack of professional curiosity”.
“This meant several events, such as an arrest for further offences, disclosure of declining mental health, problematic behaviour towards neighbours, a new relationship, and the unpermitted use of social media, were not responded to or explored sufficiently,” said Mr Jones.
“Sadly, this case is symptomatic of the issues we have observed across the probation service in recent years.
“A reliance on an inexperienced cohort of probation staff, a lack of support for mental health and substance misuse issues alongside insufficient management oversight are concerns which have been highlighted repeatedly.
“As a result of this review, eight recommendations were made to HMPPS (HM Prison and Probation Service). They have accepted all these recommendations and responded with an action plan for implementing them.”
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The chief probation officer for England and Wales Kim Thornden-Edwards, has apologised to the families and friends of the victims.
“I am deeply sorry for the unacceptable failings in this case and our thoughts remain with the families and friends of Samantha Drummonds, Denton Burke, Dolet Hill and Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo,” she said.
“The former justice secretary (Dominic Raab) commissioned an independent review into this case and we are taking immediate steps to address the issues raised, including increased support for newly qualified probation officers and improved access to substance misuse treatment for supervised offenders with a history of drug use.
“We are also using the extra £155 million being invested into the Probation Service every year to strengthen supervision, reduce caseloads, steer offenders away from crime and keep the public safe.”
Probation errors left Jordan McSweeney ‘free’ to kill Zara Aleena. Pic: PA
The case is the latest to expose failures in the Probation Service’s handling of offenders, following damning reports on the cases of quadruple killer Damien Bendall and Jordan McSweeney, who stalked and murdered law graduate Zara Aleena, 35.
A watchdog found the handling of Bendall was of an “unacceptable standard” at every stage and “critical opportunities” to correct errors were missed before he murdered three children and his pregnant partner with a claw hammer in Killamarsh, Derbyshire.
A coroner later found a series of “very stark” failures had contributed to the deaths of his 35-year-old girlfriend Terri Harris, her children, John Paul Bennett, 13, and Lacey Bennett, 11, and Lacey’s friend, 11-year-old Connie Gent, in September 2021.
Another report found a catalogue of errors in the handling of McSweeney meant he was not treated as a high-risk offender when he should have been and was left free to kill Ms Aleena just days after he was released from jail.
The teacher of one of the Southport stabbing victims has told Sky News they “don’t want her to be forgotten”, 10 months after the knife attack in which she was murdered.
Seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe was killed along with Bebe King, six, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar in an attack by Axel Rudakubana at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last July.
Jennifer Sephton, headteacher of Farnborough Road Infant School, will be skydiving to raise funds for the Elsie’s Story charitable trust, which has been set up in memory of the former pupil.
(L-R) Alice da Silva Aguiar, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King were killed in an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed class
“She’d been with us for four years, throughout her education,” Ms Sephton told Sky News, “and we just want everybody to know Elsie’s spirit.”
Describing Elsie as “such a determined young lady,” Ms Sephton said Elsie had “a real zest for life, and a sparkle in her eye all the time.”
She added that Elsie’s Story, which has been set up by Elsie’s family, is about “continuing that legacy.”
Jennifer Sephton
In the aftermath of the July 2024 attack, the gates outside Elsie’s school were lined with flowers, balloons, and cards bearing her name.
Since then, memorial benches and a tree have been planted in the school grounds, providing pupils and staff with a place to “remember and reflect”, Ms Sefton says.
“[Elsie’s death] had such an impact on all our community,” the teacher said, “it’s had an impact on her friends, their siblings, our school as a community and our staff.”
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Adrian Antell
‘We want her name to live on’
Ms Sephton will be joined in the skydive by Adrian Antell, headteacher at the adjoining junior school where Elsie had been due to start.
“Elsie was due to come to us last September,” he told Sky News, “but what we’ve learned about her is that she had a wonderful impact in the infant school, and we don’t want her to be forgotten.
“We want her name to have to live on and to be thought of in a positive way.”
Mr Antell said they continue to support Elsie’s classmates, who joined the new school without her.
“There’s no instruction manual for this,” he explained, “every day is different, and every day is one step at a time.
“So all we can do as a school is to think about individual children and support them in the best way we can.”
Scientists from Kew Gardens are using a new study to track which trees bees prefer to try to stem the decline in our vital pollinators.
Bee populations are falling all over the world due to a mixture of habitat loss, climate change, and the use of pesticides, with a devastating impact on our biodiversity and food production.
But it’s feared that not enough comprehensive, global research is being done to understand the issue or find solutions.
The study is building up heat maps of the most popular trees
Non-invasive monitors track the buzz created by bees’ wing beats
UK becoming a no-fly zone
Researchers based at Wakehurst in Sussex, known as Kew’s “Wild Botanic Garden”, have begun placing advanced bio-acoustics sensors in some of their trees to track which ones bees favour.
They hope it’ll help urban planners know which trees to plant in built-up areas, as a way of combating the worrying decline in bee numbers.
Pollination research lead Dr Janine Griffiths-Lee said: “Nearly 90% of our flowering plants depend on the contribution of pollinators, but in the UK the population of flying insects in the last 20 years has decreased by around 60%.
“It’s really hard to be able to put a figure on the decline of our pollinators, but we do know that globally the number is declining.
“And with that comes crop yield instability and the loss of an essential ecosystem service.”
Their new, non-invasive monitors listen for the buzz created by bees’ wing beats, building up heat maps of the most popular spots.
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Bio-acoustics sensors are placed in trees to track which ones the bees are more drawn to
‘We’re facing twin crises’
Dr Griffiths-Lee said: “If you think about the tree’s footprint, it’s very small, but they’re huge 3D structures covered in pollen and nectar, which are essential resources of pollinators.
“So we really wanted to think about which are the best trees for bees for us to plant, and that can inform landscape planners, urban architects.”
Eight different species of tree were chosen for the study, including horse chestnut and lime trees, with a mixture of native and non-native species.
The scientists have also been gathering DNA from pollen, which also helps them to map which plants and flowers the insects prefer.
Wakehurst’s director, Susan Raikes, calls the 535-acre estate a “living laboratory”, and said the project’s all about searching for nature-based solutions to the impacts of climate change.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher, really. We know that we’re facing these twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change,” she added.
“We need to be able to understand, as the climate changes, which plants from warmer climes will be good here in the UK for pollinators in the future.
“If all of our native plants are struggling, then we need to find new sources of pollen – for us all to survive.”
Football pundit Gary Neville is to miss coverage of the Premier League finale on Sunday after being banned by Nottingham Forest, whose owner he recently criticised.
Neville had been due to commentate on Forest’s game against Chelsea on Sky Sports, which is being billed as a Champions League qualification shoot-out with both teams aiming for a top five finish.
But posting on Instagram, the former Manchester United and England defender said the broadcaster told him on Thursday that Forest “would not give me an accreditation or access to the stadium as a co-commentator”.
“I’ve had no choice but to withdraw from the coverage,” he added.
“I’ve dished out my fair share of criticism and praise in the last 14 years of doing this job and have never come close to this unprecedented action.”
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis (R) with manager Nuno Espirito Santo after the Premier League match against Leicester. Pic: Sky Sports News/PA
Sky backs Neville’s decision
Neville said while Forest “have every right to choose who they let into their own stadium”, it was “disappointing that a great club […] have been reduced to making such a decision”.
He said “it’s symptomatic of things that have happened over the last 12 months with the club”.
Sky Sports described Forest’s move as “an unprecedented and unwelcome step” and said it has decided “to present the game from Sky Studios in west London.
“As he was no longer able to commentate from the ground, Gary has chosen to not be part of the coverage on Sunday – a decision fully supported by Sky.”
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Neville has been highly critical of Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis.
He described Marinakis walking on to the pitch and exchanging words with head coach Nuno Espirito Santo after the club’s draw with Leicester earlier this month as “scandalous”.
Neville urged Nuno to quit the club and his social media post further enraged Marinakis, who had threatened Sky with legal action over comments made by the pundit earlier in the season.
After Forest’s 2-0 defeat at Everton last year, the club issued a statement on social media questioning the integrity of video assistant referee Stuart Atwell after claiming they had been denied three penalties.
Neville’s response to that, comparing Forest’s actions to those of a “mafia gang”, prompted an apology from Sky after they had been contacted by Marinakis’ lawyers.
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