Killing of Gracie Spinks
Gracie Spinks was a lifeguard and model from Old Whittington who is suspected of being murdered by a former colleague. Background. She was a swimming instructor and lifeguard but had been working as a warehouse operative at the time of her death. She was a keen horse rider and kept a horse called Paddy at Blue Lodge Farm in Duckmanton. In February 2021 she had reported a former colleague, Michael Sellers, to police for stalking. He had been her supervisor at a warehouse where she once worked. Discovery. She was last seen alive by her mother  at 7:30am when she left home to tend to her horse. She was found unconscious in the field after 8am and a man was seen running away. Initially it was thought she had been kicked by her horse, but paramedics realised she had been attacked and called police. She was declared dead at 8:50am. Sellars was found dead at 11am. Inquests. Separate inquests were held into the two deaths. Derbyshire police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. A postmortem discovered she had died from a stab wound that severed an artery and her spine. There  was no evidence she was sexually assaulted. It is believed that Michael Sellars stabbed her. Police conduct. Disciplinary notices were served on five police officers. Two were served with notices over their handling of her allegations of stalking against Michael Sellers. A sergeant and two constables were served with misconduct orders over the steps they took after discovering a bag of weapons in May 2021 near the site where Gracie was eventually stabbed. Her family has campaigned for "Gracie's law", which would increase funding for investigating stalking cases. Her parents said she was failed by police. Killing of Gracie