A schizophrenic man brutally killed a Travelodge receptionist after a string of errors saw him moved into a hotel without medication, a coroner has ruled.
Stephen Cole, then 32, savagely attacked Spanish national Marta Elena Vento, 27, who was working at the Travelodge in Christchurch Road, in Bournemouth, with a set of hair clippers on December 9 2020.
Cole attacked her during a psychotic episode and struck her with a grooming appliance in a 42 minute assault.
Cole, described as ‘completely disengaged’ had been released from jail despite the reservations of a prison psychiatrist.
He had left prison with just a four week supply of the antipsychotic drug that kept his condition stable.
He was later seen by several health care professionals and police officers before the fatal attack.
Today, Dorset coroner Rachael Griffin ruled that Ms Vento was unlawfully killed.
‘When he was not medicated he was unpredictable and violent. Had he not been actively psychotic her death would not have occurred,’ she said.
‘This arose due to the system failure which created a real and significant risk to life.’
‘The lack of adequate staffing at the time led to him being released without significant medication and a substantial risk of life.
‘Marta was unlawfully killed by another who was unmedicated for a mental illness because of a failure to sufficiently plan for his care upon his release from prison.’
A prison healthcare firm, called the Practice Plus Group (PPG), failed to ensure a care plan was put in place for Cole or to notify his former GP of his release.
His medication ran out at the end of November and he struggled to get another prescription.
After being released from prison he was arrested on December 4 for attacking guests and security guards at his emergency accommodation hotel but was bailed the following day, before a practitioner decided whether he should have been assessed further.
In the following days he desperately tried to collect more medication, but was unable to.
He was later moved into the Travelodge on Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, with staff not told about his condition or his violent outbursts.
On December 7, a police offender manager for sexual or violent offenders, visited Cole at the Travelodge and described him as ‘completely disengaged’ and ‘almost blank’.
However, he failed to inform Travelodge staff of the danger he posed to them or guests and simply left.
The next day, Cole’s father called 999 and took him to a GP over his mental health issues, saying it was the worst state he had seen him in.
But the doctor, who was unaware of Cole’s violent past, refused to renew his prescription without getting advice from a psychiatrist first.
Hours later, Cole viciously attacked Ms Vento, 27, who was working alone on the reception desk of the hotel.
The Spaniard had just started working at the hotel and lived across the road.
She died of multiple blunt force head injuries, with 55 injuries recorded in a post mortem examination.
Her body was discovered by the manager several hours later.
In 2021, Cole pleaded guilty to manslaughter through diminished responsibility and has been detained indefinitely in hospital under the Mental Health Act.
The coroner said there was a ‘systemic failure within PPG care’ which created a chain of events which led to her death.
‘Had PPG undertaken release care planning and made a referral to the NHS then he would not have relapsed and therefore he would not have come into contact with Marta.’
In a statement, Ms Vento’s family said: ‘Today’s conclusion confirms what we have suspected in the four long years since our dear Marta was torn from our lives.
‘It is overwhelmingly hard for us to understand how the English prison health system could allow someone like Stephen Cole, who was so clearly unwell, to be released without a care plan and the ongoing medication he needed.
‘It is equally hard for us to understand why the English police did not make themselves fully aware of the danger Cole posed when he stayed at the Travelodge on that night.
‘Our daughter paid with her life for lapses in the English prison and policing systems. The cost to our family can never be measured. Without our Marta, our lives will never be the same.’
Benjamin Burrows, the lawyer representing the family, said: ‘The clear conclusion is that Marta’s death aged just 27 would have been avoided.
‘If Practice Plus Group had provided continuity of care to Stephen Cole on his release from HMP Winchester it would have probably meant that he stayed on his medication and he would not have relapsed into psychosis.’
‘The same would have happened if Dorset Police had properly assessed and managed Cole’s risk.
‘Either of those steps would have prevented Cole killing Marta. This is very difficult for the family to come to terms with, but finally gives them the answers they have been waiting for.