Jury clears man accused of killing Grantham woman Kim Harrop by spiking her vape fluid or wine with powerful painkiller

A man accused of killing a Grantham woman by spiking her vape fluid or wine with a powerful painkiller on a date has been cleared by a jury.

Christopher Downes, 53, of St George's Avenue, Hatfield, Doncaster, stood accused of the manslaughter of 55-year-old Kim Harrop at Humberston Fitties, near Grimsby, when she spent the night with him on April 22, 2018.

His trial concluded on Friday at Sheffield Crown Court, with a jury unanimously finding him not guilty of her manslaughter.

Kim, a mother-of-four from the Grantham area, was found dead in Downes’ bed at his cabin on Humberston Fitties. A large amount of powerful painkilling drug oxycodone, used to treat severe pain, was found in her blood.

Prosecutors alleged that Downes had slipped the morphine-based painkiller into her vape fluid or wine with sexual intent.

However, Downes told the court that she must have taken it herself and claimed she had complained about back pain earlier in the day.

The oxycodone had belonged to Downes' former partner, before she died of cancer. Downes told the court he had kept the drugs along with other possessions belonging to her because he did not want to throw them away.

Investigating officer Roger Fell, from the major crime team at Humberside Police, has been involved in the case from the outset.

He said: "Kim was a mother and much-loved daughter, her untimely death has caused untold distress to her family.

"The verdict of the jury in finding Downes not guilty is one we accept.

"I hope, at least the trial has given Kim’s family some of the answers they have been searching for in the years since her death."