THE murder of a woman who was strangled and stabbed to death by her boyfriend in his Newport home, could not have been predicted or prevented, a review has concluded.

But the incident in which 21-year-old Jessica Watkins died at the hands of Kristopher Mitchell on May 4, 2014, was not isolated, the domestic homicide review reveals.

Miss Watkins - described as a “vulnerable adult” with a “mild learning disability” - told family and friends that Mitchell, then aged 28, tried to strangle her, an incident that appears to have happened just weeks before he killed her.

Mitchell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of Miss Watkins.

She and Mitchell are referred to respectively as adult A and adult B in the report.

The review also heard evidence that Mitchell was involved in a similar incident several years earlier. Neither had been reported.

During a home visit by Miss Watkins’ community learning disability nurse on April 8, 2014, less than a month before her murder, a relative told the nurse she “had been almost strangled” by Mitchell the previous week.

The nurse discussed a Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) referral, providing details of specific abuse. Miss Watkins did not want the police involved and did not give her consent for the details to be disclosed. But the nurse completed the referral, an action recognised as good practice by the review.

The following day, another relative mentioned the incident to the nurse, who discussed it with a manager. The view was taken that “no significant harm had occurred and that the POVA threshold has not been met”, and the referral was closed.

Miss Watkins’ friends also told the panel she told them her boyfriend tried to strangle her. She was advised to end the relationship and did, but soon resumed it.

Gwent Police had little involvement with Miss Watkins or Mitchell.

The review was told that Mitchell had been in court following an incident three-and-half years before Miss Watkins’ death, but concluded that this “could not have been recognised as a significant precursor event.”

Agencies involved with Miss Watkins did not know her boyfriend’s identity. She was involved with Mitchell for three months before she died.

The report also indicates that Wales policy on the POVA referral “does not appear to have been fully implemented.” It cites a statutory duty to intervene when a crime has been or might be committed, and that is a matter for the police to decide.

It points out that had such a police investigation taken place, Mitchell’s involvement in the previous incident would have been identified, “and any appropriate action could have been taken by both the police and the vulnerable adult’s team.

The review considered this “a missed opportunity” but stressed that it cannot be determined if this would have prevented Miss Watkins’ death.

The review makes 10 recommendations - one Wales-wide and others for One Newport Local Service Board, Gwent Police, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, and Newport council’s adult services - covering issues such as POVA referrals, information sharing, and staff training and awareness regarding vulnerable adults and domestic violence.