An investigation found that “multiple agencies” of misconduct were involved in Zara Arena murder.
The 35-year-old law student was killed as she walked home from a night out in east London.
Her killer, Jordan McSweeney, was released from prison while walking home in Ilford nine days before the attack on Arena on 26 June 2022.
Arena died in hospital from blunt force trauma caused by compression of the head and neck, the jury heard.
On Wednesday, the paper said: “Zara’s death was caused by the failure of multiple government agencies to act in accordance with policies and procedures to share information, accurately assess the risk of serious harm and respond to that risk in a sufficient, timely and coordinated way to act and plan.”
There was a “serious failure to carry out an appropriate risk assessment” by the Prison and Probation Service, which meant McSweeney was not classified as a high-risk offender.
It further noted that there was a “failure to define, understand and exercise roles and responsibilities across multiple agencies to provide effective care for the offender”.
“Attempts by the Metropolitan Police to apprehend the offender after the reopening were hampered by a number of factors, including an inaccurate reopening date, a lack of professional curiosity and a follow-up investigation on Saturday 25 June”, the jury said.
McSweeney was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 38 years at the Old Bailey in December 2022 after admitting the murder and sexual assault of Alaina.
In November 2023, he won an appeal to reduce the minimum term of his life sentence to 33 years.
The local coroner, Nadia Persaud, had asked the jury to consider whether failings by the Prison and Probation Service or the Metropolitan Police contributed to Mr Arena’s death.
Delays in prison transfer
Police were unable to make contact with McSweeney after he was released on parole on 17 June 2022, but parole officers waited five days before commencing his transfer to prison.
He missed his parole appointment on the day of his release, and his mother told staff he had passed out drunk at home. The appointment was rescheduled twice, but Mr McSweeney did not turn up for any of the appointments and his mother said she did not know where he was.
Despite the failure to contact him, his transfer was initiated on 22 June and a transfer report was signed on 24 June 2022.
Police were given powers to arrest McSweeney at 4.10pm the same day. In the early hours of June 26, McSweeney killed Ms Arena.
Probation officer says McSweeney should have been classified as high risk
Recently qualified probation officer Austin Uwaifo said McSweeney should have been classified as high risk and would have argued for him to go to prison if he had been sent back sooner.
Mr Uwaifo said: “At the time we wanted to give him a chance to come back because he had come out on the Friday. Maybe he had decided to go out and get drunk for whatever reason.”
Uwaifo said that while there were no staff at the probation office over the weekend, if McSweeney had been deemed a high-risk case, he would have requested a quicker out-of-hours emergency call-out.
Initial investigation concluded early
The officer who ordered McSweeney’s recall said that the initial investigation into his whereabouts had been concluded early and further testing should have been carried out.
Metropolitan Police Sergeant Ian Batten said he did not expect McSweeney to pose a danger to the public after being notified of his re-arrest on 24 June 2022.
Batten also said he was not aware that the initial investigation into McSweeney’s whereabouts had been completed before the end of his shift.