Sophie Walker was instructed in the inquest touching on the death of Erika Francis, who died in March 2021.

Recording a narrative conclusion, the Coroner concluded that Erika died from an overdose and issued a Prevention of Future Death report raising concerns that staff at Devon Partnership Trust did not have sufficient training in relation to the links between domestic abuse, mental health deterioration and suicide risk.

The inquest examined the response to Erika by Devon & Cornwall Police, her GP practice and Devon Partnership Trust’s First Response Service from December 2020 – March 2021 in the period before her death. The coroner identified shortcomings in the response of all three agencies, including deficiencies in the way domestic abuse and suicide risk were explored and recorded.

Despite officers from Devon and Cornwall Police twice attending Erika’s home in the days before her death, there was a failure to recognise that the ex-partner present at home was a domestic violence perpetrator who had previously been subject to a Domestic Violence Prevention Order.

However, while identifying shortcomings by the police, GP practice and mental health services, the coroner concluded that it could not be established that those failings had made an actual and material contribution to Erika’s death.

Sophie was instructed by Emily Reader and Leanne Devine of Leigh Day.