The PSNI and other authorities have drawn a blank when quizzed around previous convictions disappearing from offenders records, as occurred in the case of Jonathan Creswell.
He went on trial for the murder Armagh showjumper Katie Simpson after presenting her to medical staff unresponsive and half-naked to an ambulance crew, having purportedly hanged herself.
Hailed a hero for valiantly rescuing and attempting to save Katie’s life, he was largely believed by many, including police.
But not everyone was convinced.
Despite huge pressure to accept the narrative, some embarked on what became a tortuous battle for the truth.
Creswell was finally charged with Katie’s murder and four women would later be reported to the Public Prosecution Service for their roles in the cover-up.
Three would face court, pleading guilty to their respective charges, leaving Creswell to stand trial alone, which abruptly concluded within 24 hours when he was found dead.
Originally from Derry/Londonderry, Creswell came to work at stables in Tynan, close to Katie and her sister Christina’s home.
In 2009 he was in a relationship with his previous victim, Abi Lyle, while living in Caledon from where she would be rescued by a specialist PSNI domestic violence officer, very possibly saving her life.
As that case moved through court Creswell began a long-term relationship with Christina and the couple later had two children together.
While Katie fought her final battle for life in hospital in August 2020, frantic calls to were being made to police – all of which were recorded – sharing critical information on Creswell’s previous convictions for domestic abuse, particularly his propensity for strangulation.
Bizarrely, this apparently didn’t match Creswell’s criminal record although that was never communicated to those reporting concerns.
It’s questionable whether anyone disclosing such purportedly false information wouldn’t be viewed as wasting police time
It transpired his convictions for abusing Abi had disappeared from the system, although these were widely known, having received widespread media coverage at the time.
In an attempt to establish if this was a one-off, or more wide-reaching, particularly given the public safety implications, the PSNI were asked how many criminal records have had entries removed or missing (as opposed to expunged on appeal) in the last five years.
The response read: “The PSNI does not hold this information. Enquiries have failed to locate any relevant records or documents.”
It continued, the Criminal Record Viewer is jointly owned by the Department of Justice and the Causeway system.
Nationally, information is held on the Police National Computer, which is operated by the Home Office.
The FOI was submitted to the Department who initially indicated this was a PSNI matter.
After being sent the PSNI response the Department later confirmed it too held no information adding: “No new or independent activities are undertaken in the Causeway system. Any change to criminal history would be through the source and interfaced to Causeway.”
Meanwhile, the Home Office who said this isn’t a query for them as, “policing is a devolved matter, so the Home Office only oversee police forces in England and Wales.”
That brought the enquiry back to where it started with PSNI, meaning the issue is no further on and it is unclear who or what authority has responsibility for erroneously removed convictions.
This calls into question if there are other such cases or was Creswell a singular instance.
In either scenario it must be asked – why and how?
Interestingly although unable to answer the enquiry the PSNI response included a footnote, setting out how criminal entries can only be removed after legal challenge, or an entry may be missing if a case isn’t finalised.
Creswell did not challenge the convictions or prison sentence in Abi’s case which was finalised over 10 years before Katie’s tragic murder.
Again, the PSNI need to answer why and how his convictions disappeared.
