Murdered teen let down by a council, says coroner

A vulnerable teenager who was murdered by her violent and abusive older boyfriend was let down by a council due to safeguarding gaps, a coroner said.

Natasha Hill, 18, had been in the care of Essex County Council from a young age before she was beaten to death by Scott Clifford, then aged 34, in London in April 2018 .

Clifford was handed an 18-year prison sentence for her murder in August 2019.

In a prevention of future deaths (PFDs) report published on Friday, Julian Morris, London Inner South coroner, called for stronger transitional safeguarding arrangements for vulnerable adults aged 18 to 22.

These include improved protective measures for young people at risk from abusive adults, and greater national consistency in policing, child sexual exploitation policy, offender management and responses to missing children.

The coroner said Hill had been groomed from about the age of 16 and in April 2017 she was at risk of child sexual exploitation.

A Child Abduction Warning Notice (CAWN) was issued against Clifford and Hill was assessed as at high risk.

Over the following months, Hill went missing for periods of time and Clifford stopped communicating with his probation officer.

Once Hill turned 18, the CAWN automatically lapsed and she was discharged from a multi-agency child exploitation framework, but with no vulnerable adult action plan in place.

Within a week of turning 18, Hill moved in with Clifford and had ongoing, regular injuries.

Hill suffered over 50 injuries and died from fatal head trauma at Clifford's home address in the early hours of 15 April 2018.

She had been found "cold and unresponsive" by paramedics after Clifford claimed she had fallen down the stairs.

Paramedics spotted Clifford attempting to wash his clothes as they tried to save Hill's life.

Emma-Louise Fenelon, a lawyer representing Hill's family, said at her inquest at London Inner South Coroner's Court in 2022: "The system is meant to keep vulnerable women safe. The ecosystem set up to keep vulnerable women safe, for her protection, has completely failed."

The coroner said thought should be given to the extension to the CAWN for the young person and a creation of one single national policy for policing and child sexual exploitation.

Essex County Council was legal guardians for Hill while she was in care and were represented by Jennifer Mellani in 2022.

Mellani said the council's duty of care was "discharged effectively" and all policies in place were implemented.

In response to the future deaths report, a spokesperson for the authority said: "We offer our deepest sympathies to Natasha Hill's family and friends for their extremely tragic loss.

"We have taken on board feedback from the coroner, and we have made significant changes in our practice and guidance since Natasha's death in 2018."

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