Content warning: this article discusses multiple cases of femicide and violence against women.

Carl Cooper, 66, had been stalking Naomi Hunte, 41, for months. They had an on-and-off relationship and Naomi often did not feel safe around him. She reported Cooper to police four times between 2020 and 2021, detailing behaviour that included persistent phone calls, uninvited visits to her home, verbal abuse and kicking at her front door.

On Valentine’s Day in 2022, Naomi was found stabbed to death in her home in Woolwich, southeast London. Cooper was arrested on suspicion of her murder by police, who later found her blood on his coat, but for reasons grieving relatives still struggle to fathom, he was released under investigation.

Cooper then began a relationship with 48-year-old mother of four, Fiona Holm. In April 2023, Fiona phoned police from Cooper’s home, reporting that he had threatened her with a crowbar and had previously stabbed her with a screwdriver. He was issued a 28-day Domestic Harm Prevention Order. After it expired, Fiona disappeared.