Care home staff unaware of killer's history before teenager's murder

Independent

6 days ago

Support workers at a care home where a teenage girl was murdered by a fellow resident did not know about his history of predatory sexual behaviour, an inquest has heard.
Melissa Mathieson, 18, was strangled by Jason Conroy at Alexandra House, which provided residential care for adults with autism and Asperger's syndrome, in Bristol, in October 2014.
Conroy, now 28, was jailed for life for the sexually motivated killing.
Avon Coroner's Court heard how Conroy moved to Alexandra House two months before the murder, after trying to strangle a teacher at a residential school. He had also previously tried to kill his mother.
Miss Mathieson, who was from Windsor, Berkshire, had been sent to Alexandra House by social services when she turned 18, having spent the previous two years in a series of different placements.
Teachers at Conroy's previous school had shared Conroy's history with the home's manager, Yvonne Hin, including a detailed report from a forensic psychologist, and also passed on details of their risk assessments and care plans.
Several staff told the hearing they would never have been alone with Conroy if they knew of the risk he posed to others, and described reporting their concerns to supervisors.
Michelle Forde, a support worker, said Conroy made her feel 'afraid' and after an incident at a swimming pool, spoke to her team supervisor, Elaine Coleman.
'I queried it with Elaine Coleman whether he was a sexual predator. She said there was nothing in his care plan,' she replied.
Mrs Forde said she knew nothing about Conroy's history of 'opportunistic sexualised behaviour' until after Melissa's death, and had no knowledge of the measures in place at his previous placement.
'No, we were just told he came from a boarding school and that was it.
'If I knew any of that I would not ever have worked with him – putting us all at risk,' she said.
'A disgrace. We had one-to-one with him – all of the female staff we had.'
Colleague Michelle Cole told the hearing of reporting her concerns about him, including Melissa saying Conroy was always watching her.
'I asked to speak with Elaine Coleman privately in the office, and reporting those incidents to her,' she said.
'She said she would keep an eye on things. I felt like I wasn't listened to and not taken seriously.
'I just didn't feel it was being acted upon, and I was just making something out of nothing – that's what it felt like.
'I would never have been alone with him if I had known.'
Mrs Cole said that on the night Melissa died, Mrs Coleman told the night staff to walk Melissa to her room and lock her door.
'She told them to know where Jason was at all times,' she said.
Diane Turner, another support worker, said Conroy would make her feel 'very intimidated' and she said Melissa had told her Conroy would follow her around.
Asked about her knowledge of him, she replied: 'All I knew was that he had to be two to one with the female staff.'
Mrs Coleman, a team supervisor at Alexandra House, said staff had 'basic information' about Conroy and were not told of previous incidents.
'He was also a little bit funny. He would stare at you,' she said.
'I couldn't put my finger on it, he was really scary, really glazy-eyed. He had one-to-one staffing in the house.'
She said Conroy's room had an alarm which would sound if his door was opened, but this was switched off and he was free to move around.
'I was told he didn't need it,' she said.
'I said to other staff I wanted to know where he was at all times. One said to me that Melissa had told her she was worried about Jason, and she was scared.'
She said she only found out about Conroy's predatory sexual history after the murder, and had she known she would have put in extra measures.
'We didn't know Jason was as dangerous as he was,' she added.
'If I had seen something within his notes I would have made sure that everybody was aware of that and made sure there was two-to-one staffing.'
The inquest was adjourned until Monday.