Bid to catch the warning signs (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Bid to catch the warning signs

THE family of a mother and son who were killed by her violent husband have welcomed a review into the possible missed opportunities that could have prevented the deaths.

The review in the Julia Pember-ton case, which will be the first of its type in the country, will begin next month.

It will examine the events leading up to the murder of Mrs Pemberton and her son William at the hands of Mrs Pemberton's estranged husband Alan in November 2003.

Her brother Frank Mullane, of Old Town, Swindon, and other family members believe the Thames Valley Police failed to take steps to prevent the murder despite a series of warning signs.

Mr Mullane congratulated the decision for a review but said it should be done properly.

"What is the point in doing a half-baked review?" he told the Advertiser after yesterday's meeting of the West Berkshire Safer Communities Partnership.

After shooting his wife as she cowered in a cupboard of their home near Newbury, Berkshire, and knowing that their son was already dead, Pemberton turned the gun on himself.

At the time Pemberton was the subject of a court order banning him from going anywhere near the property. The Pembertons previously lived at Castle Eaton, near Swindon.

Accompanied by Alan and Julia Pemberton's daughter Laura, who survived as she was away at Cambridge University at the time of the shootings, Mr Mullane met Home Office minister Baroness Scotland earlier this year to press the case for a formal "homicide review" into what went wrong.

The resulting review is set to shape how investigations into similar tragedies will be carried out, acting as an unofficial pilot scheme for a section of the new Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act which introduces homicide reviews in domestic violence cases.

Held behind closed doors but with Mrs Pemberton's family kept up-to-date throughout, Thames Valley Police, NHS representatives, William Pemberton's school, Alan Pemberton's GP, and others will all be asked to take part.

Conducted by consultant and former Surrey social services chief Brian Parrott the review is officially commissioned by the West Berkshire Safer Communities Partnership which includes police, the local authority and other groups.

In Newbury yesterday, members of the group met to finalise plans.

Mr Mullane won eventual agreement from the group that the basic terms of reference for the review would be adapted to ensure that it looked at how such tragedies could be predicted and prevented.

While funding issues have yet to be finalised with the Home Office and the exact wording of the changes to be agreed, the group announced that the review was expected to begin on October 1.

Highlighting another case of Mr Mullane told the meeting that danger signs were key to tackling domestic murders.

"It is imperative that all the agencies that come into contact with perpetrators and potential victims need to know the danger signs," he said.

"If this review doesn't look at that what's the point of it."

Speaking afterwards Mr Mullane described the meeting as constructive.

He said: "I want to congratulate the Safer Communities Partnership for being open for debate, it seemed to us that we had to shove them but they were open."

Tamsin Davis