'Devious' sex offender drugged women years before mum's death

No-one will ever know how many women Richard Scatchard drugged and raped, but his convictions for attacks on women date back 40 years.

Kelly Faiers, his final victim, was unaware of his past - or how much danger she was in.

Kelly, 61 and from Weston-super-Mare, was killed in October 2023 having been coerced into taking an excessive number of sleeping tablets after drinking, an inquest found.

Scatchard, 71, who she was dating at the time, went on the run within hours of her death and was found dead months later in a caravan in Watchet, Somerset.

Coroner Samantha Marsh returned an open conclusion after an inquest was unable to determine how he died.

Warning: This story contains references to sexual violence

Kelly's son Mike said his mum was "a fun, bubbly woman".

"Everyone liked to be around her," he added. "I don't know anyone who's got a bad word to say about her."

Her daughter Jazz remembered her as "very smiley and positive".

"Even if the worst thing was happening, she'd still try to see the good," she said.

But while the family have fond memories of their mum, they feel anger towards "lots of different parties" that Scatchard was not stopped before he met Kelly.

They want to know how a man who had been jailed twice - and who police once found with a body bag and a spade in his car - could prey on their mum.

An inquest into Kelly's death concluded she was unlawfully killed and Scatchard had been coercive and controlling throughout their relationship.

Marsh described Scatchard as "devious, cunning and untruthful". He had not declared his relationship with Kelly to his probation officer as was required.

Marsh said it was therefore difficult to see what more police and probation officers could have done to prevent Kelly's death, given they were not aware of her.

After a difficult few years, Kelly was ready for a relationship in 2022, and met Scatchard on a dating app.

She knew him as Richard Dunlop and could never have known his true past.

Kelly's family and friends said she had some doubts about Scatchard's behaviour, and had been planning to end things.

"She tried to see the best in him, and maybe ignored certain things for certain reasons," said Jazz.

A few weeks before she died, Kelly drove past Scatchard's house in Minehead, Somerset, with her children.

She told her family: "If you ever need to know where I am, then you're going to know."

"She made a conscious effort to point that house out," Jazz said.

Since Kelly's death, it has emerged she told friends Scatchard wanted her to take sleeping tablets, and enjoyed having sex when she was "drowsy".

On one occasion Kelly came close to finding out who he was, searching for his real name online. But Scatchard was spelled incorrectly, and her search failed.

It was only after her death that Kelly's family discovered the truth.

Jazz said: "Me, along with all of my family, found out via Facebook that he was in fact a convicted sex offender."

Three of seven complaints the family made to the police watchdog were upheld. Avon and Somerset Police has apologised again and said it "acknowledged several decisions" it took following Kelly's death "have impacted her family".

While Kelly and her family did not know about his background, Scatchard was being monitored by the Probation Service and police.

He moved to Minehead in 2020 when deemed to be of low risk of reoffending. However, after breaching his licence terms he was reassessed as medium risk.

He was issued with a final warning by probation in March 2021 for failing to disclose an emerging relationship with a woman he met online.

He was later given a second final warning for deleting his search history.

Police did not have the power to search his home and Scatchard hid from authorities his relationship with Kelly and the fact he was using a second phone.

In a statement, the Ministry of Justice said it was increasing probation and community funding by £700m and making sure offenders who pose the greatest risk receive more face-to-face supervision.

Avon and Somerset Police said it was "increasing the number of specially-trained officers to help manage sex offenders, and introducing more training around unconscious bias and spotting the signs of false compliance".

Mike said the discoveries about Scatchard's past have prevented Kelly's family from dealing with her death.

"I'm just fuming. I feel sorry for all my family," he said.

"I feel like I'm not going to be able to grieve properly."

Kelly's family believe it was only a matter of time until one of Scatchard's victims died.

Jazz said: "He was always going to do what he was going to do. That's as simple as that. If it hadn't been our mum, it would have been someone else."

That prediction was also made by a police officer who previously arrested Scatchard.

Marcia, a former Cheshire Police detective, brought Scatchard to justice for attacks against three women, crimes that led to him being given four life sentences - to run at the same time - in 2000.

She investigated Scatchard in the late 1990s when a woman reported him to police.

She found he had been jailed in 1986 for drugging and kidnapping a woman. Marcia immediately contacted the officer who had worked on that case.

Marcia said: "His response was, 'Oh he's done it'.

"I asked 'what do you mean by that?'

"He said: 'He's killed someone'."

Marcia said the officer explained to her that in the case he had investigated, Scatchard hit the woman with a vehicle and then drove over her.

"When they searched the vehicle, there was a body bag and spade in the boot of the vehicle," Marcia said.

"It made the officer think it was always just a matter of time before he took a life."

Marcia discovered Scatchard had kept detailed notes about his attacks and filmed them, creating videos she described as "sickening".

"The videos we found actually evidenced that he was a serial rapist," she added.

Marcia then began tracking down the women in the videos, some of whom gave evidence against Scatchard.

"He offered to be chemically castrated," said Marcia. "But that's not the organ that's the problem - it's the one inside his skull.

"The drugging of women is so that he can have total power and control. What sends you down that path? I don't think we'll ever know.

"His MO has always been the same... It's always the same type of lady, a very empathetic, kind, caring soul.

"There's always some substance administered which renders them unconscious so that they could be raped.

"That hasn't changed. It's never changed."

Marcia believes Scatchard was incapable of being rehabilitated in prison and should "absolutely not" have ever been released.

When he was sent to prison in 2000, the judge said he should serve a minimum of five years and four months.

He was released after 13 years on life licence, meaning he would always be monitored.

The BBC has exclusively obtained the parole board's report about Scatchard's release, which said he was "frank" with them about the seriousness of his offences, and understood how dangerous he was.

The report noted his squeezing his victims' necks was "about grievance and vengeance" and he derived "a sexual thrill" from this.

The board concluded he should be released, partly because of sex offender treatment programmes he had attended.

They believed his risk was "sufficiently reduced" if he stuck to licence conditions, which included living at approved premises, making himself available for alcohol testing, and disclosing intimate relationships.

Scatchard's death means Kelly's family are still struggling to come to terms with her loss.

"We'll never really have closure," Jazz said.

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