A new documentary delves into the horrific murder case of Gracie Spinks, a 23-year-old woman who was killed by her stalker.
Stalking: State Of Fear, which airs on ITV1 tonight at 9pm, explores the lives of stalking victims, including that of Ms Spinks, who died in 2021.
Ms Spinks, who was a keen equestrian, was last seen by her mother just half an hour before she was found unconscious in her horse’s field in Duckmanton, Derbyshire, at 8am.
The 23-year-old was pronounced dead at 8.50am by paramedics, who soon realised she had been attacked and called the police.
Just over two hours later, officers found Michael Sellers, who was said to have been ‘obsessed’ with Ms Spinks, dead in a field less than a mile away.
A new documentary delves into the horrific murder case of Gracie Spinks (pictured), a 23-year-old woman who was killed by her stalker
Just over two hours after her body was found, officers found Michael Sellers (pictured), who was said to have been ‘obsessed’ with Ms Spinks, dead in a field less than a mile away
Ms Spinks had reported the 35-year-old to the police when he turned up at her horse’s stable and told them he would ‘kidnap someone’, The Sun reports.
Sellers, who was Ms Spinks’s supervisor at e-commerce firm Xbite, was found to have killed the woman he had been stalking at the very same stable just four months after she had reported him to the authorities.
A post-mortem examination revealed that stab wounds had severed Ms Spinks’s spine, as well as an artery, with no evidence of sexual assault during the incident on June 18 2021.
Derbyshire Police admitted to several failings in the way it handled the stalking victim’s case and referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
A subsequent investigation led to disciplinary notices being handed to five officers at the force, including two who were issued with notices for their handling of Ms Spink’s allegations of stalking against Sellers.
Two constables and a sergeant received misconduct orders for their actions after finding a bag containing a hammer, an axe and knives in May 2021 near where the 23-year-old was later killed.
Ms Spinks and Sellers initially had a friendly relationship at work and would visit each other’s homes but by Christmas 2020, the 35-year-old’s behaviour had changed.
The supervisor attempted to kiss Ms Spinks on a visit to her house and, despite blocking him on social media, Sellers persisted and began stalking his colleague.
Shortly after, the stalker was spotted parked near the stable where Ms Spinks kept her horse.
The woman reported the incident to HR managers at Xbite, who concluded that Sellers showed ‘no remorse’ and failed to understand the consequences of his actions.
Three weeks into the investigation, the supervisor was removed from his position.
The next month, Ms Spinks contacted police to report Sellers’s increasingly bizarre behaviour but the stalker was only informally interviewed by an inexperienced constable and bodycam footage from the meeting was lost.
A senior officer, speaking at the murder victim’s inquest, would later criticise the final crime report, branding it ‘not very good’.
Ms Spinks, who was a keen equestrian, was last seen by her mother just half an hour before she was found unconscious in her horse’s field in Duckmanton, Derbyshire, at 8am
Two constables and a sergeant received misconduct orders for their actions after finding a bag containing a hammer, an axe and knives in May 2021 near where the 23-year-old was later killed
Tributes were later placed near the spot where Ms Spinks’s body was found
Ms Spinks, who had been a swimming instructor and lifeguard before her job at the Xbite warehouse, has been described as ‘a vivacious, out-going, friendly and amazing young woman, fiercely independent and busy living life to the full, looking forward to the future and all it promised’, according to a tribute website.
The part-time model had a younger brother and despite her parents separating when she was five, she ‘remained close to both her parents and enjoyed a busy life and close bond with both’.
Her family has campaigned for Gracie’s Law to be introduced which would aim to increase funding for stalking case investigations.
- Stalking: State Of Fear airs on ITV1 at 9pm on April 30