Attacks on women almost a pandemic - detective

A senior detective who investigated the murder of a female drug dealer has described violence against women and girls as "almost a pandemic".

Det Insp Dale Mepstead was speaking after the investigation into the killing of Eliza Bibby in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, in 2023 was filmed for a Channel 4 television programme.

She told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire that the 24 Hours in Police Custody programme also highlighted issues relating to deprivation in parts of Wisbech.

Some people in the town felt "crime and addiction" were the "only way forward", she said.

Ms Bibby, 47, was discovered in a pool of blood at her home in Beechwood Road, Wisbech, in early January 2023.

A man was given a mandatory life sentence in October after being convicted of her murder.

Jamie Boughen, then 47 and from Waterlees Road in Wisbech, was told by a judge at Cambridge Crown Court that he would serve a minimum term of 22 years before being considered for parole.

Ms Bibby was stabbed and an 8.2in (21cm) knife, which had traces of DNA belonging to her and Boughen, was found on the roof of nearby garages.

Boughen told police he could not remember what he was doing the night Ms Bibby was killed.

Jurors heard how Ms Bibby sold prescription and controlled drugs from her bungalow.

Two episodes of 24 Hours in Police Custody: Murder on Prescription are due to air at 21:00 on Monday and Tuesday.

Channel 4 said the programme would reveal the "inside story" of Ms Bibby's murder and Boughen's conviction.

Cameras had followed detectives "door to door" and been there for "every twist and turn", the channel said.

Det Insp Mepstead, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said the focus of these episodes of 24 Hours in Police Custody highlighted a worrying trend.

She told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: "[In] society as a whole, violence against women is almost a pandemic."

Ms Bibby had been vulnerable, she added, and the fact she had been "involved in drug dealing" also made the investigation difficult - due to the number of people who went in and out of her home.

"It was very difficult trying to tease out whether they were not telling the truth because they were involved in Eliza's murder or whether they were not telling the truth because they were not telling the truth to try to minimise their involvment in, essentially, drug use," she said.

Det Insp Mepstead added: "There is normally a reason behind people with addiction issues.

"That actually is a vulnerability. Without a doubt, Eliza was targeted because of that."

Det Insp Mepstead accepted the Channel 4 programme painted a picture of Wisbech which was not "flattering".

"I think it captured quite a lot of poorer deprived areas of Wisbech," she said.

"I imagine that people that live there are going to be quite disappointed."

But Det Insp Mepstead said the "whole picture" needed to be shown.

"When we have spoken to lots of people during the investigation that live in that area, they are very much of the view that there are no opportunities and, actually, crime and addiction was the only way forward for them," she said.

"I think it does highlight some of those issues."

In late January 2023, a 45-year old-man also arrested on suspicion of Ms Bibby's murder was found dead in prison.

Cambridgeshire Police said officers had been called to HMP Peterborough after reports of a "sudden death".

The force said the man's death had not been treated as suspicious.

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