Susan Nicholson's parents win appeal for fresh inquest
Elizabeth SkeltonThe parents of a woman murdered by her boyfriend have won a High Court bid for a new inquest into her death.
Susan Nicholson was killed by Robert Trigg in 2011, five years after he had killed his previous partner, Caroline Devlin, in similar circumstances.
Neither death was initially deemed suspicious by Sussex Police.
Ms Nicholson's parents campaigned for a new inquest to investigate whether police failed to adequately protect her.
Trigg, 54, was jailed for life in 2017 for the murder of Ms Nicholson and manslaughter of Ms Devlin at their homes in Worthing, West Sussex.
Following the conviction, the High Court quashed the accidental death finding in the original inquest into Ms Nicholson's death and ordered a new one.
Senior West Sussex coroner Penelope Schofield had ruled it would be a short inquest, with no witnesses questioned.
But the High Court has ordered a full inquest be held after the latest legal challenge.
A spokeswoman for Ms Nicholson's parents, Elizabeth and Peter Skelton, said it would take a in-depth look at potential police failures.
The family had run a fundraising effort to bring their case against the coroner to the High Court.
Ms Schofield, the defendant, chose to remain neutral.
But Sussex Police, an interested party, "rigorously" opposed the judicial review, according to the family's lawyer, Alice Hardy.
She claimed the force presented them with a £6,000 legal bill prior to the hearing and said it would "expect Susan's parents to pay for their legal fees" if they lost the case.
Sussex PoliceLord Justice Popplewell and Mr Justice Jay said the ruling did not mean the police "were in fact guilty of any failings, or in breach of the operational duties".
They said: "Our conclusion is merely that that can credibly be suggested, so that an inquest should look into whether that is so.
"It may find that no criticism of the police is justified, or that any criticisms are isolated failures and not serious. That will be a matter for investigation at the inquest."
Mr Skelton said the family were "so relieved that the court has come to this decision" and hoped the new inquest would provide the answers they needed.
He added: "Susan was cruelly taken away from us nine years ago, and yet it has taken this long for the authorities to be questioned about the role they played in her death."
Mr and Mrs Skelton's lawyers argued police did not find similarities between her death and Ms Devlin's suspicious and had treated Trigg as a bereaved partner rather than a suspect.
In 2011, coroner Michael Kendall ruled Ms Nicholson had died accidentally after Trigg claimed he rolled on top of her unintentionally while they slept on a sofa.
It was only after Ms Nicholson's parents hired professionals to re-examine the original pathologist's report that the case went to court.
Sussex Police, which had argued Mr and Mrs Skelton's appeal should be dismissed, said it was "considering [its] position".
A spokesman added: "We will, of course, fully co-operate with HM Coroner in providing information for the inquest.
"It would not be appropriate for us to make any further comment at this time."
'Insulting aspersions'
The judges also dismissed an application by Trigg, who was also an interested party in the case.
He had asked the court to make an order that the coroner should be allowed to reach her own conclusion on how Ms Nicholson died and that she did not have to rule in line with his murder conviction.
But the High Court judges upheld a ruling made by the coroner last year that "the fresh inquest cannot reach a verdict inconsistent with Trigg's conviction".
The Skeltons' lawyer, Alice Hardy, condemned Trigg for "jumping on the bandwagon" and casting some "pretty insulting aspersions about the two women and their families along the way".
