Family welcome probe into police contact with killer
Family handoutThe family of a woman stabbed to death in her home by a psychotic stranger have welcomed a decision to hold an inquest to look at why police allowed the killer to walk free shortly before the attack.
Angela Lloyd, 56, was killed in her Newton Aycliffe home by Patricia Hewitt, 42, in August 2025.
Hewitt, who earlier that day had been given a suspended sentence for randomly attacking a woman by magistrates, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital detention order after admitting diminished responsibility manslaughter.
County Durham coroner Jeremy Chipperfield said there were "important" issues raised by the family which warranted an inquest.
On 13 August 2025, Hewitt walked into Angela Lloyd's home and repeatedly stabbed her with a knife and scissors while demanding money.
The killer had been spoken to by police community support officers (PCSOs) just minutes before, after multiple people raised concerns about her erratic behaviour and she stole wine from a shop.
Earlier that day she had walked free from Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court having been given a suspended sentence for randomly attacking a woman the day before in Chester-le-Street.
Family handoutChipperfield previously said the presumption would be against holding an inquest as the court case might well have answered the questions about how the victim came by her death.
But at a hearing at Redhills Durham Miners Hall, the coroner said there were still multiple issues yet to be addressed, meaning there was "sufficient reason" to hold a full inquest.
"It seems to me the criminal trial focused on what the defendant did to cause Angela to die but there are issues which go outside that which have not been properly explored," Chipperfield said.
The family said they wanted to know why Hewitt was not detained by the police and why a care service, Care Connect, did not send immediate help after getting three emergency calls during the stabbing.
Angela's brothers Patrick and Joseph Lloyd told the coroner there were multiple things that did "not make sense".
They said Hewitt, who had more than 100 offences on her criminal record, was known to police for violence and she should have been arrested for shoplifting just hours after being given a suspended sentence.
The inquest heard after the attack, Hewitt tried to get into two other houses, with Joseph Lloyd saying there could well have been more "murders" if she had succeeded.
Speaking after the hearing, Patrick Lloyd said: "We just don't understand how they could let someone so violent go."
He said the PCSOs treated Hewitt with "kid gloves", offering her a lift home then letting her walk away when she declined it as they would not let her sit in the front of the car.
Hewitt rounded a corner and attacked Angela Lloyd, with Patrick saying: "That's what's hard to get your head around, [the police] were still there when she was starting to get stabbed."
Joseph Lloyd said "Angela would still be alive" if Hewitt had been arrested or detained and "alarm bells" should have rung for the officers.
The brothers said they had also been given contradictory information by the police and were upset a picture of their sister released to the public had been cropped to hide her wheelchair use to avoid prejudicing a potential jury.
"You can't get away from it being a 56-year-old woman in a wheelchair with asthma, diabetes and a muscle-wasting disease," Patrick said.
Joseph said the family wanted "closure" after a "really bad year", while Patrick said he hoped the inquest would offer some justice for their sister, who was a Disney-loving devout Catholic who did lots of work for charity.
Durham Police previously said the force would "reflect" on the case.
A pre-inquest review will be held at the coroner's court in Crook on 6 November.
