Grantham mother Daniela Espirito Santo officially reported abuse for first time hours before death, inquest told
A young mother was at a "turning point" in coming forward when reporting the latest case of domestic abuse just hours before she died, an inquest has heard.
On the third day of the jury inquest into Daniela Espírito Santo’s death on April 9, 2020, the jury was played audio of her first call to the police on April 8 after partner Julio Jesus’ latest assault that morning.
Transcriptions from police body-worn cameras also revealed how Daniela, of Chestnut Grove, in Grantham, had told officers about numerous assaults by Mr Jesus and offered more than 90 photos of her injuries.
It was a turning point for the 23-year-old, as it was the first time Daniela had made an official complaint against Mr Jesus, having called the police a number of times but refusing to make a statement each time.
This would lead to his arrest for assault occasioning actual bodily harm shortly after.
However, just hours later, Mr Jesus was released on bail and returned to the property against bail conditions.
After he again left, Daniela died which the pathologist had previously told the inquest was due to an acute deterioration of an existing heart condition after he further assaulted her and left the property.
She had been on hold to the police at the time.
In her morning call to the police, played today (Thursday), Daniela can be heard in tears and distressed as she describes two incidents to the officers.
The first had taken place that morning following an argument about her request for Mr Jesus to move a rug from the living room so that Daniela could begin potty training her youngest child.
“I said it was useless asking him for help and he started shouting and saying I was the useless one,” she said in the call.
The National Domestic Violence Helpline is a 24hr Freephone available on 0808 2000 247 operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Daniela then went on to describe how Mr Jesus’ assault included throwing a plastic toy at her, grabbing her, throwing her on the bed, and going to strangle her.
She also told the operator about an earlier incident in March in which he had choked her on the bed to such a degree that the jumper she had been wearing had imprinted on her neck.
Officers who attended the incident and later arrested Mr Jesus also appeared before the jury.
“Her speaking was the turning point,” said DC Matt Fromm, the officer who led the response to Daniela's initial call.
Mr Fromm, who had been a PC at the time, told the inquest he had been keen to gather as much information as possible from Daniela about the most recent incident when speaking to her.
However, the family’s counsel continues to question the level of detail included in reports submitted by officers, as well as whether officers considered a bigger picture of coercive and controlling behaviour.
Like other officers in this week’s inquest, DC Fromm was questioned on why he did not reference previous incidents in his DASH (Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment) report, did not include further allegations made by Daniela, and appeared not to consider coercive and controlling behaviour risk factors as a whole.
The inquest was read transcripts of body-worn cameras, which described her showing more than 90 photos of previous injuries and telling officers about earlier assaults including April 8, 2020, March 29, March 28, February 1, February 6, November 4, 2019 and September 8, 2019.
Shaheen Rahman, from the family’s counsel, read out extracts from the transcription of the body-worn video cameras the officers were wearing.
They included Daniela telling officers: “I said ‘what are you going to do this time? Are you going to kill me this time?’
“When he stopped… it looked like he wanted to [kill me] but he didn’t.
“I started telling him ‘I want you out of the house. I want you out of the house’.
“When I was behind the door, he crushed the door into me… he said, ‘I don’t give a f*** about the door, I’ll kill you with the door.’”
She also told the officer about “games” Mr Jesus would play, including whispering things quietly so she doubted whether he had actually said anything, or driving past the house and then telling her he had no fuel.
Ms Rahman noted that she had told officers she was scared of Mr Jesus coming back and asked for certainty around how long he would be in custody.
“These are examples of controlling and coercive behaviour,” said Ms Rahman.
“The reality is that the quality … it hasn’t come through in your DASH report at all, has it?
“It’s right that you didn’t fully consider controlling and coercive behaviour more.”
She believed that if officers had looked at the bigger picture, there would have been “overwhelming cause” for Mr Jesus to be held on a charge of controlling and coercive behaviour - a stronger charge than assault.
DC Fromm told the inquest he would be “horrified” if any of his behaviour had come across as if he hadn’t given it priority or hadn’t seemed interested in what Daniela had told him.
However, he acknowledged that the behaviour “could have been explored more”.
“I would like to think there was some appreciation for someone’s safety, even if I didn’t fully understand certain behaviour or actions,” he told the inquest.
It was acknowledged again that parts of officers' training had included sections on domestic abuse, but that there had not been a practical or formal training session on controlling and coercive behaviour since it became an offence in 2015 that officers could recall.
A younger officer, PC Adam Kelly, appeared at the inquest. He had accompanied PC Fromm to the incident on April 8 but had only been on his second day of initial training at the time, shadowing DC Fromm and observing what he did, as well as completing small tasks such as gathering photos.
He confirmed much of what DC Fromm had said, as well as explaining what training he had undertaken in the months prior to starting.
Mr Jesus was arrested as officers left Daniela’s property, with one of them noticing his car pulling back towards Chestnut Grove as they pulled out onto Trent Road.
Transcriptions note that Mr Jesus “appears to be crying” and officers said he was compliant on the route to the police station and on arrival.
Police initially graded the incident in a domestic assault, stalking, harassment assessment as “medium” due to Mr Jesus not presenting an immediate threat. It was later upgraded to “high” by a senior officer when reviewed due to the level of violence involved, while Mr Jesus was still in custody.
In terms of efforts to protect Daniela from further harm, police had offered safety advice and asked if she would be willing for them to divulge certain information to neighbours to keep an eye out.
They offered her advice, including providing information about how to contact police if you call 999 but are unable to speak.
They also removed a key and fob to the flat from Mr Jesus and returned them to Daniela, as well as carried out door-to-door information gathering.
It was also referred to a multi-agency risk assessment conference (MARAC) for further discussions about what support could be given.
The family counsel have asked what more could have been done to prevent Daniela from being attacked a second time, noting that at the time of Mr Jesus’ first entering custody, there was a “real possibility” he could be released.
They also questioned conversations held in the custody suite and the timings of those discussions.
DC Fromm, who ended his shift while Mr Jesus was being interviewed by CID, accepted there were things he could have raised to help, but that he would not have been in a position to facilitate those at the time Mr Jesus was released.
Questions continue to be asked about how detailed DASH reports are, how often officers check them, the level of checking, and how easy it is to cross-reference different incidents.
Previous days in the inquest have revealed how Danielatold police operators she had been sleeping on her sofa for two years in a harrowing 40-minute call.
She had also reported numerous assaults to the police in the year before her death, but had not followed through with official complaints, often letting Mr Jesus back into her life and flat.
The family counsel have suggested that Daniela feared the repercussions of making an official complaint, including the involvement of children’s services, the loss of her children, a lack of support, or having to give up her independence.
The inquest continues.
