Overview

• HM Coroner Alan Wilson concluded that Valerie Kneale, 75, was unlawfully killed by unlawful act manslaughter after a violent sexual assault while an inpatient at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
• Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour testified that Mrs Kneale did not die from her stroke but from internal and external injuries caused by a forcible sexual assault likely inflicted at least 48 hours before death during her admission.
• Healthcare assistants reported extensive bleeding discovered after death, yet the concerns were not escalated, a lapse the coroner called a serious failure that undermined the investigation.
• Police evidence-gathering was hampered because the room was cleaned and reused, clothing was disposed of, and hospital CCTV had overwritten, leaving limited, if any, forensic opportunities.
• Lancashire Constabulary says the homicide remains undetected under major crime review, the Trust says improvements have been implemented and will study the findings, and prior cases on the same ward exposed unlawful sedation and a dysfunctional drugs regime.