Pathologist Found Stroke Patient was 'Sexually Abused to Death'
- Dignity 4Patients
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
By Sarah Tulloch and Isla Storie- Daily Record- 04/09/2025- [Blackpool, UK]
Valerie Kneale died in hospital in November 2018, four days after having a stroke.
The inquest into the death of a pensioner who died in hospital nearly seven years ago has reached its third day.
Valerie Kneale, 75, was rushed to hospital in November 2018 after suffering a stroke and falling from a kitchen chair at home in Knott End-on-Sea, Lancashire.
She passed away in the stroke unit at Blackpool Victoria Hospital four days later. However, a murder investigation was later launched after it was revealed she had died from a haemorrhage caused by a non-medical related internal injury, the Mirror reports.
The grandmother was eating dinner with husband Bill when she had a stroke on November 12, 2018. Before going to hospital, Valerie had joked with him when he told her not to "do anything stupid."
She replied: "Like die? Don't be so bloody stupid."
Bill, alongside the couple's children Mike and Sharon, rushed her to A&E, where scans confirmed a bleed on the brain. She was admitted to the stroke ward, and by the following afternoon she was sat up in bed and talking to her family.
Unfortunately, she had a second stroke that evening, and never regained consciousness. The family were told she could be transferred to another hospital for an operation, but if she survived, she would likely stay in a "vegetative state" and be dependent on 24-hour nursing care.
Bill said: "We made the heart-breaking decision to let nature take its course. It was a horrendous decision to make and I cried uncontrollably."
Valerie was transferred to a private room, where her children later noticed she was making "painful whimpering noises" and scratching at her chest and thighs.
Daughter Sharon said: "A staff member said it was an involuntary movement but looking back I believe she was trying to indicate or tell us something". That day, Valerie also managed to say two things - "no response" and "babies do that".
The inquest was told she was also fitted with a catheter, despite the family not being informed about the procedure. On the Thursday, Sharon noticed a rolled up towel between her mum's legs.
She added: "I thought it was to catch drips from the catheter or to stop her legs chafing. To this day I am none the wiser as to who put the towel there or why. There was never a conversation about the towel. It was literally a chance finding.
"I regret that I left mum alone in the hospital on Monday evening. I question myself why I didn't just stay. I never saw my mum again with her eyes open after that."
Valerie died on Friday, November 16. A post-mortem examination revealed she had suffered a right frontal cerebral haemorrhage, but Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour did not believe this caused her death.
She concluded she had died due to internal and external injuries "caused by a forcible sexual assault after she was admitted to hospital".
Staff tasked with preparing her body for the mortuary found "blood everywhere", with extensive bleeding from her genital area. They reported it to the nurses, but were told to "clean her and place her in a body bag".
However, police officers probing allegations that vulnerable patients were being unlawfully sedated on the unit requested that her body be returned from the funeral home for further investigation.
On December 4, 2018, Dr Armour, carried out a Home Office post-mortem and discovered a large wound on her vaginal wall, concluding she had died from an internal haemorrhage. She stated this had occurred at least 48 hours prior to her death, during which time Valerie was a patient in hospital.
A healthcare professional was arrested on suspicion of her murder in 2021, but was later eliminated from the police investigation.
Following a seven-year investigation, as well as appeals in the media, an appearance on Crimewatch and a £20,000 reward, police have been unable to identify the culprit.
Coroner Alan Wilson said: "All possible lines of enquiry have been looked at and considered but the evidence to bring a criminal prosecution against an individual or individuals isn't there.
"Whilst enquiries have ceased the case will always remain open and has been transferred to the major crime unit."
Despite a murder inquiry being launched, vital evidence had been destroyed due to the delay.
Detective Chief Inspector Jill Riley told the inquest that CCTV had overrun and been deleted from the system. The room and bed Valerie had stayed in had been cleaned and used by other patients, and her clothes destroyed.
Medical notes were also missing or not complete, with significant gaps, including the time between her family leaving on the Monday evening and her condition deteriorating the following day. The inquest also heard the door to the stroke unit was often propped open, and visitors could access it by "tailgating" staff.
DCI Riley added: "Had we, the police, been alerted to concerns (about bleeding) that Friday, November 16, we would have had more forensic opportunities from inside the room and Valerie's body and clothing. We are conscious staff members deal with patients day in, day out, and their recollection of Valerie's care would have been compromised.
"One of the challenges of this investigation was to seek to understand how nobody seemed to know that this injury existed."
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and were abused in state run medical and health facilities, you can contact Dignity4Patients, whose helpline is open Monday to Thursday, 10am to 4pm.
Dignity4Patients Commentary:- Details of this incident are vague, but the facts are that vulnerable & sedated patients in hospitals need better #Protection. Unlawfully sedating patients, inserting catheters without #Consent, doors left open or unsecured, medical notes missing or incomplete, and unexplained injuries appearing after admittance to a ward aren’t mistakes; they are signs of #Misconduct by healthcare professionals. When those charged with a #DutyOfCare turn a blind eye, opportunists take advantage to commit crimes, even sexual assaults on wards. #PatientSafety #Prevention #Safegaurding #MedicalEthics