Gracie Spinks death: Parents to take Gracie's Law petition to MPs

The parents of a woman thought to have been killed by a former colleague who stalked her are to present a petition to Parliament in the coming weeks.

Gracie Spinks, 23, was found fatally injured in a field, in Duckmanton, Derbyshire, on 18 June 2021.

It is thought Michael Sellers, 35, who was found dead nearby shortly afterwards, stabbed her to death.

A petition calling for Gracie's Law, to give more support to stalking victims, has more than 104,000 signatures.

Ms Spinks's father Richard said getting more than 100,000 signatures was "one hurdle over".

"It is the next bit that we have to get organised and get the debate read in Parliament and get changes implemented," he told BBC Breakfast.

Mr Spinks said the petition called for funding for police forces to provide advocates to support victims of stalking, and help officers investigate cases more thoroughly.

"We'd like more funding for individual constabularies, it's a bit of a postcode lottery really. The training that the officers get in each constabulary needs to be consistent across the board.

"Gracie was let down by certain individuals because procedures weren't followed and boxes ticked.

"We want training for officers, funding for the advocates to deal with stalking reports at source, maybe prior to a crime being committed," he said.

Ms Spinks's mother Alison Heaton said current measures to tackle stalking were not working.

"We just didn't realise how big a problem stalking was until this happened to Gracie. It's huge, it's absolutely massive.

"We're going to personally present the petition to Parliament, hopefully in the next couple of weeks," she added.

Nurse Jackie Barnett-Wheatcroft, who set the petition up after being stalked herself as a teenager, said she wanted police forces to allocate specific funding to help victims.

Ms Spinks had told Derbyshire Police last February Sellers, from Sheffield, was stalking her.

Two officers from the force have been served with misconduct notices over their handling of a stalking complaint made by Ms Spinks.

Three other officers are being investigated over a bag of weapons found near the field where she died in May.

In response to the petition, the government has previously said in a statement: "To help ensure victims and survivors are supported, the Home Office part-funds the National Stalking Helpline... and has recently tripled its funding.

"We have also made a commitment... to work with police in order to make sure they are making proper use of Stalking Protection Orders."

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