Lincolnshire Police review will look into death of Daniela Espirito Santo

Lincolnshire Police says a domestic homicide review has been commissioned to look into the circumstances leading up to Daniela Espirito Santo’s tragic death.

Daniela Espirito Santo, 23, died on April 8, 2020, hours after being assaulted by her boyfriend Julio Jesus in the small flat they shared in Chestnut Grove, Grantham.

An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) report obtained by The New York Times reveals that Ms Santos called police seven times in a year reporting her boyfriend for death threats and for trying to strangle her.

Two of those seven calls were made in the hours before her death in April 2020.

Daniela's boyfriend was later cleared of her manslaughter in March 2021. He was jailed for 10 months for assault, after medical experts said they were unable to prove a direct link between the assault and her death.

In a statement, released yesterday, Detective Superintendent Suzanne Davies, head of professional standards at Lincolnshire Police, said: “We welcome the opportunity to talk through the findings of the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) report but because that report has not yet been officially published and an inquest is pending it is not possible at the moment to offer comment.

“We have reached this decision after having consulted with the coroner in Lincolnshire who will hear this case and he has advised us that responding to points raised in the IOPC report which, as we state, has not yet been officially released, could cause a risk of prejudicing proceedings at the inquest into Ms Santo’s death.

“The inquest has been opened and adjourned and proceedings are active so we must be mindful of allowing the coronial process to complete its fact-finding without influence or prejudice.

“A domestic homicide review has been commissioned, which is a review of the circumstances in which the death of an adult has, or appears to have, resulted from violence, neglect or abuse from a person with whom they were related, had an intimate personal relationship, or with whom they shared a household, completed by an independent author.

“We will be more than happy to answer further questions as and when we can but our primary focus is ensuring that all available reviews, hearings, and forums that can look into the circumstances surrounding Ms Santo’s death are allowed to be undertaken without influence or prejudice.”