General · 10 July 2026
Sex offender drugged women for decades before killing his girlfriend
Illustration: AI-generated for editorial context. Not photographic evidence.
Richard Scatchard, a convicted sex offender, killed his girlfriend Kelly Faiers in October 2023 after coercing her to take too many sleeping tablets. He had been jailed twice before, including in 2000 for assaulting three women, and a body bag and a spade had been discovered in his car. Scatchard, who died months later, had been released on life licence after 13 years despite a police officer believing he would eventually kill someone.
Reported by BBC · How we write briefs