Prison criticised after Peterborough man who murdered step-daughter and refused to say where he left her dies in jail without getting compassionate leave
A prison has been criticised after a Peterborough murderer died in jail without being granted compassionate leave.
Scott Walker was jailed was given a life sentence in September 2021 after he was found guilty of murdering step-daughter Bernadette Walker.
Seventeen-year-old Bernadette’s body has never been found, and Scott Walker never revealed how he killed her, or where he had left her body, taking the secret to his grave.
Scott Walker – who was aged 51 when he was jailed – was diagnosed with cancer while in prison at Full Sutton, a jail located near York.
He had been told he would serve a minimum of 32 years behind bars when he was jailed – but Cambridge Crown Court heard it was likely he would die behind bars as he had a number of serious health issues.
Chemotherapy was stopped
Scott Walker died inside HMP Full Sutton aged 53 on December 22 2023.
Now the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) have released a report into his death – and said he should have been granted compassionate release when he was diagnosed with the terminal cancer.
The report says: “We found that despite starting an Early Release on Compassionate Grounds (ERCG) application promptly, prison staff did not request a report from Probation staff and the GP at Full Sutton did not complete their report before Mr Walker died as they should have done.”
The report said that Scott Walker attended a healthcare appointment and reported that he had been passing blood in his urine in August 2022.
He was diagnosed with cancer, and then in May 2023, he was told the cancer had spread to his bones.
On 1 September, he commenced chemotherapy. However, he declined to have any further treatment in October, as it was making him unwell.
The PPO report said: “On 5 October, Mr Walker’s prison offender manager started an Early Release on Compassionate Grounds (ERCG) application. She completed her report and sent the application to the GP at the prison to complete. She did not send it to the community offender manager (COM) for completion as she should have done. There is no evidence that the GP completed the report prior to Mr Walker’s death.
"On 8 December, Mr Walker was transferred to the Healthcare Unit at Full Sutton for palliative care. Mr Walker had previously refused to transfer to the unit.”
The report said that on December 22, he was found unresponsive in his cell.
What criteria are in place for release on compassionate grounds?
Release on compassionate grounds is a means by which prisoners who are seriously ill, usually with a life expectancy of less than three months, can be permanently released from custody before their sentence has expired. A clear medical opinion of life expectancy is required. Among the criteria is that the risk of reoffending is expected to be minimal, further imprisonment would reduce life expectancy, there are adequate arrangements for the prisoner’s care and treatment outside prison, and release would benefit the prisoner and his family.
In the report, the PPO made the following recommendation:
"The Governor and the Head of Healthcare should ensure that Early Release on Compassionate Grounds applications are completed in line with Policy Framework by:
• ensuring that prison staff request a report from Probation staff for the application; and
• completing all reports for the application, including GP reports, in a timely manner."
In response to the PPO report, a Prison Service spokesperson said: “We have accepted and actioned the Prison and Probation Ombudsman’s recommendation.”
To read the report in full, visit https://ppo.gov.uk/fatal_incident/scott-walker/
What did Scott Walker do?
Bernadette Walker – known to her friends as Bea – was last seen alive on Saturday, July 18 2020, when Scott Walker – known to Bernadette as ‘Dad’ but not her biological father – arrived to pick her up from her grandparent’s home in Werrington.
A trial heard how in the days leading up to her disappearance Bernadette had made allegations to her mum, Sarah Walker, that Scott Walker had sexually abused her – and that had been the reason she had left the home she shared with her mum and Scott Walker in Century Square, Millfield, to stay with her grandparents.
But rather than bring the youngster home, Scott Walker killed her.
For the following seven weeks, Scott and his former partner, Sarah Walker, deceived friends, family and police by laying a false trail to suggest Bernadette was still alive and had run away from home.
A huge search operation was carried out by police, but it is still not known how Bernadette met her fate, and her body has never been found.
In September 2021, Scott Walker was given a life sentence, with a minimum term of 32 years – after being found guilty of Bea’s murder at a trial.
Bernadette’s mum, Sarah Walker was sentenced to a total of six years in prison after she was found guilty of perverting the course of justice.