Inquest finds armed police raid led to anxiety disorder and suicide; fiancé later stopped transplant treatment and died

An inquest at South Tyneside Coroner's Court concluded that an armed police raid that mistakenly arrested a man at his home contributed to an anxiety disorder that led to his fiancée taking her own life, a verdict that family members say precipitated a second death when her partner stopped vital medical treatment.

The coroner recorded a narrative verdict finding the raid by armed officers "sparked an anxiety disorder that led to her suicide." The woman, identified as 31-year-old Cherry Turner, took her own life on July 1, 2022. Her fiancé, 32-year-old Craig Jackson, who had received a kidney transplant in 2017, later stopped taking his immunosuppressant medication and died in January this year, relatives said.

Family members told the inquest and press that the couple had been together since their early teens and that Turner’s mental health deteriorated after the raid. Relatives described Jackson as telling his mother he "could not be without Cherry," and his mother, Susan, said she had begged him to continue treatment. "My son just decided to give up the treatment needed after the kidney transplant," she said.

The inquest heard that officers from Northumbria Police carried out a highly intrusive operation at the couple’s home in Newcastle’s West End that involved multiple vehicles, an armed response team, dogs and sirens. Jackson said in a statement taken before his death that he was pinned to the ground and saw "green dots reflecting from the wall from the armed police," and that he was led outside in his underwear. Counsel and family members said officers later admitted they had arrested the wrong man while investigating a "serious offence" in the area.

Evidence presented at the inquest included messages exchanged between officers indicating they had not "got the right man," and testimony that police quickly realized the error but did not notify the couple for about two months. Paul Dunn, the solicitor representing Turner’s family, said that delay and the manner of the search left Turner paranoid and fearful. "Every time she heard a police car, she was expecting the police to come back," he said.

Relatives at the hearing described the long-term effects on the family. Turner’s father, David Turner, said the family had been living "a life sentence of pain," and that thoughts of their loss were constant. A family member issuing a joint statement described the couple’s bond as "pure and unbreakable" and said they hoped the inquest findings would ensure the couple’s story "can be heard, honoured, and never forgotten."

Jackson’s sister-in-law told the inquest he had been "fighting kidney failure for the last 10 years" and had received a transplant from his father, Ian, in 2017. After Turner’s death, relatives said Jackson ceased taking prescribed immunosuppressants, telling his family he could not bear to live without his childhood sweetheart. His mother said she moved into his home to care for him and repeatedly urged him to return to treatment, to no avail.

Northumbria Police said it had carried out an internal investigation and apologised to Turner’s family and to Jackson for failings identified. A force spokesperson said: "We conducted an investigation and apologised to Cherry's family and Craig Jackson for failings identified. We will now take time to carefully consider the findings of the inquest." The inquest transcript and family statements said officers involved had been heavily engaged in attempts to detect those responsible for the nearby crime but had made errors in identifying the suspect.

Coroners do not apportion criminal liability in narrative verdicts, which set out the circumstances of a death without attributing cause to an individual. The hearing compiled testimony from relatives, legal representatives and witness statements to reach its conclusion that the police operation played a role in Turner’s mental health decline and subsequent death.

The families urged that the consequences of the raid and the delay in notifying those involved be acknowledged. Jackson’s brother said police should have corrected the mistake the day they realized it and that doing so might have prevented Turner’s deterioration. A spokeswoman for the Turner family said the inquest brought long-awaited answers to more than three years of questions and grief.

Anyone affected by the issues raised in this story or considering self-harm can contact Samaritans in the U.K. at 116 123 or visit samaritans.org for confidential support.