A woman who reported Jonathan Creswell after he exposed himself and threatened her and her partner has finally been vindicated – 10 years after she first brought matters to police attention.
The woman and her partner, who we are calling Sarah and Ian, endured years of failure by authorities on top of their experiences with Creswell who went on to murder Katie Simpson in a jealous rage then staged a scene to make it appear she had taken her own life,
He had already served a prison sentence in 2010 after a sustained campaign of brutal abuse against his previous partner Abi Lyle.
Far from chastened, Creswell simply picked up where he left off on release from prison, slipping back into the community and the horse industry with ease.
His supporters peddled a story that he was the victim and Abi had lied but while others manipulated the narrative Creswell wasn’t so coy, instead bragging openly about what he’d done.
He remained popular and sought after for horse-training and it was while he was working in an Antrim yard that Sarah and Ian encountered him.
They had been there around four months and enjoyed the work, albeit they found Creswell loud, brash and uncouth, but very much the central attraction.
“Everyone, especially females, hung on his every word,” recalls Sarah. “They all wanted to be around him, laughing at his jokes and eager for his attention. Ian and I weren’t interested and did our own thing. That probably annoyed him.”
One afternoon while Sarah was exercising a horse, Creswell told her he had been in prison for beating his ex-partner.
“He laughed a lot and said his only mistake was not finishing the b***h off. A few weeks later he called my name and when I looked round, he was fully exposed, naked from the waist down and gyrating. I ignored him.”
Sarah told Ian and the stable owner, the latter of whom wasn’t remotely interested.
But Ian challenged Creswell, audio recording the exchange on his phone.
“He was so irate he was literally screeching,” said Sarah. “He threatened to snap Ian’s neck and break his back and said I’d get what was coming.”
As expected, staff sided with Creswell leaving Sarah and Ian isolated and shunned.
Given the toxic atmosphere the couple left and reported Creswell to police, providing statements and handing over the phone with the audio recording.
Sarah said, “Creswell was dangerous and I made that clear to PSNI. His rages bordered on psychotic. He could not be challenged and anyone who tried paid the price.”
On realising he was being sought by police, he fled to his father’s home in Donegal but travelled North on an almost daily basis.
After a time, Sarah was told the case was closed as police couldn’t locate him, but as would later transpire, there were multiple opportunities to do so.
When Sarah learned of Katie’s murder through news reports containing details of her original statement which PSNI were using to oppose bail for Creswell, she made a complaint to the Ombudsman in 2021, but this was rejected outright, plunging her into further distress and frustration.
Another recently discovered issue was that despite PSNI insistence of being unaware of Creswell’s violence convictions when Katie’s died on August 9 2020, the Police National Computer (PNC) was checked by a Detective Chief Inspector five days later, which held the full extent of his criminal history and concerns, including Sarah’s report.
This meant Creswell could have been arrested at any point for Sarah’s complaint immediately the PNC was checked, exactly as he should have been for Katie’s murder.
Creswell’s death one day into his in 2024 again left Sarah without the possibility of justice and she made a second Ombudsman complaint.
This time significant evidence was supplied to investigators who upheld her complaint.
Sarah said, “The latest report is the complete opposite of the previous one. I’m unsure if the Ombudsman intends to act in that regard. The supporting evidence was sourced in a matter of hours and included Creswell’s race schedules, not just in the North but back in the very yard the incident occurred, just months after he ran away.”
While Sarah – as she puts it – is “relieved to be believed” she remains disturbed by PSNI failings and the original Ombudsman investigation which was grossly lacking.
However, completely stoic on her position she said, “I experienced Creswell’s behaviour. I knew he was dangerous and I made that clear to PSNI both in my own complaint and for any other person who fell foul of him. It’s been a 10-year fight which is totally unacceptable. I still struggle to comprehend how so many authorities repeatedly got this wrong so many times. The failed PSNI investigation was bad enough. The first Ombudsman complaint was a disaster despite information already known.”
Sarah concluded, “I am finally vindicated, but that is bittersweet as I will always be left with the thought that if PSNI had treated my report with the seriousness it deserved, could Katie have been spared her awful fate at Creswell’s hands? Hindsight is 20/20 but the evidence was there. It’s just nobody bothered to pursue it”
