WHEN Shan Grossett received a news alert about a stabbing on the aunt’s south London street, she had no idea of the horror that was about to unfold.
Just hours later she was told four of her loved-ones – her cousin Samantha Drummonds, 27, aunt Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, great-aunt Dolet Hill, 64, and Dolet’s husband, Denton Burke, 68 – had been murdered.
The killer was Samantha’s boyfriend Joshua Jacques, 29, who stabbed all four in a barbaric attack at their home in Bermondsey, in April 2022, while high on cannabis.
And there was further horrifying news to come.
Jacques was under supervision by the probation service at the time – having been released from prison five months earlier following a 51-month custodial sentence for drug offences.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Shan, 36, recalled: “Finding out we had lost one person in the family was horrific but to have four murdered at one time was completely traumatic. It was a mass murder.
“To then learn that he was supposedly under supervision at the time… I could not get my head around it.”
In March, Jacques was jailed for life with a minimum term of 46 years, and an independent review identified “serious failings” in his probation supervision prior to the attacks.
“I could not understand how he had been able to act the way he did,” Shan, of Ealing, west London, added.
“The probation workers didn’t commit the murders, but if they had a stronger hold on him and did what they should have done it could have been prevented.”
Shockingly, the case is far from being an isolated incident.
At least one murder, sex assault or crime of violence is committed every two days by convicted criminals on probation after release from jail, stats released this month show.
Analysis of Ministry of Justice data revealed that 3,450 serious further offences (SFOs) were carried out by criminals released between 2010 and 2022 and placed under supervision of the probation service. SFOs include murder, kidnap, rape, arson and other sexual or violent crimes.
The devastating figures come amid a string of high-profile murders by perpetrators on probation.
Last month a damning report by a watchdog found that failings by probation officers left Jordan McSweeney, 29, free to kill law graduate Zara Aleena, 35.
McSweeney, who had 28 previous convictions, killed Zara on 26 June, 2022 – nine days after he was released from jail on licence.
Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell found multiple errors in the Probation Service’s handling of McSweeney which meant he was not treated as a high-risk offender.
“Every time I read about another family who has lost someone in these kinds of circumstances it hits us all over again,” Shan, mum to Cole, eight, said. “How many people need to die before something changes?”
Andrea Simon, of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said the failures in the supervision of Jacques and McSweeney “laid bare the issues across our justice agencies”.
“What we are seeing are institutional failures to protect women and girls from known perpetrators,” she told The Sun.
“Most probation areas are failing to protect the public effectively and, as Samantha and Zara’s murders show, this has deeply serious consequences for women and girls.”
She called on the new government to “urgently provide the funding these services need” – a sentiment echoed by Shan, who is now campaigning for change.
The probation workers didn’t commit the murders, but if they had a stronger hold on him and did what they should have done it could have been prevented
Shan Grossett
Shan has launched a petition demanding “comprehensive and continuous training” for all probation staff. She hopes to meet ministers to discuss recruitment and reform.
The school safeguarding admin worker explained: “I’m still grieving but I have the fire in me to make a change and save lives.”
Shan told how retired hospital worker Dolet – who was finishing cancer treatment when she was killed – had “adopted her as a granddaughter” in 2012.
Married mum-of-two Tanysha – known as Racquel – was “supportive and positive”, she says.
Student Samantha was “more like my sister” while retired chef Denton shared a close bond with Shan’s son Cole.
Samantha had dated Jacques, a childhood friend, in the four months before the murders, but had only briefly introduced him to the family.
On April 25, 2022 – the day of the attacks – Shan had been due to visit Dolet’s home, where Raquel and Samantha were staying at the time, but cancelled at the last minute.
The following day she received a call from Dolet’s daughter Tracey-Ann Henry who was unable to reach them.
Shan had received a news alert notifying her of a quadruple murder on Dolet’s street – but it was only when Tracey-Ann rang back, crying, that she feared the worst.
She raced to Lewisham Police Station where officers confirmed that her four loved-ones were dead – and Jacques had been arrested.
“I was so shocked and confused,” Shan said. “It felt like a dream – that it couldn’t be real.
“I was confused, crying – saying ‘what are you talking about?’
“We had to raise money to bury them and have four funerals at one time. It was horrific.”
Jacques, of Lewisham, denied murder but admitted manslaughter. Jurors at the Old Bailey found him guilty of murder in December, following a three-week trial.
The court heard how he was fuelled by drugs and alcohol when he attacked the family in the middle of the night.
He was found by armed police at the scene, lying naked in a praying position, screaming “Allah, take me!”, “Kill me now”, “Get rid of me”, and “God please forgive me”.
Shan, who attended the trial, said: “We still don’t know why he did it. He showed no remorse.
“My son’s taken it badly – we both had to have counselling. I’ve become so wary of people – living in fear. The joy in me went away.”
In March, an independent review found the probation service failed to organise a drug abuse intervention for Jacques, despite it being a condition of his release.
Chief Inspector of Probation Martin Jones also said the enforcement of his probation was “inconsistent” and management oversight was “insufficient”.
The case was “symptomatic” of issues observed across the Probation Service in recent years, Mr Jones said.
As a result of the review, eight recommendations were made to HM Prison and Probation Service – all of which it accepted.
“We have been left with so many unanswered questions,” Shan said. “Why was he allowed to be out in the community, free?
“Where were the people who were meant to be around him?”
Her questions echo those of others left shattered by crimes linked to probation failures.
Victims include Terri Harris, 35, who along with her son John Bennett, 13, daughter Lacey Bennett, 11, and Lacey’s friend Connie Gent, 11, was murdered by her ex Damien Bendall in 2021.
Bendall, 33, on licence at the time, was managed by overworked and inexperienced probation officers, an inquest at Chesterfield Coroner’s court was told in October.
Senior coroner Peter Nieto found that a series of “very stark” failures by the probation service contributed to their deaths.
Terri’s parents Angela Smith and Lawrence Harris previously told of their “trauma”, adding: “The probation service failed to protect and keep our family safe… This must never happen again.”
My son’s taken it badly – we both had to have counselling. I’ve become so wary of people – living in fear. The joy in me went away
Shan Grossett
Peter Hall, whose daughter Michaela was murdered by serial violent offender Lee Kendall in May 2021, criticised “systematic failings” that contributed to her death.
An inquest in March heard Kendall, who previously tried to strangle partner Michaela, 49, was free to kill her after being wrongly assessed as “medium risk” by the probation service.
Police had received 34 pieces of intelligence about Kendall’s domestic abuse against the charity worker, of Mount Hawke, Cornwall, at the time of the murder.
Speaking in March, Mr Hall said: “It broke our hearts to hear that if these errors had not happened, our Michaela would not have died that day.”
Izi Lowenthal-Isaacs, Policy and Practice Manager at Women’s Aid, called for specialist training for probation officers, arguing that women and children are being let down by poor risk assessment and “a lack of understanding about the complexities of domestic abuse”.
“The time after separation can be a period of severe risk of harm and even homicide,” she added.
Inspection reports have suggested shortages of probation officers are to blame for the prevalence of horror incidents, contributing to a decline in quality of their work.
Last year, the probation service had a leaving rate of more than 10 per cent. In the year to March 2023, nearly 2,300 staff left the service. In 2018, it was only 729.
And Shan said: “We don’t need cuts, we need more probation workers and strict vetting and training to make sure they’re right for the job.”
She is concerned over Government plans to release 5,500 offenders to ease overcrowding in prisons, including 1,700 serving sentences of over five years.
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
Speaking last week, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the temporary measures are designed to tackle the “emergency facing our prisons” and will be reviewed in 18 months.
Shan, who has a degree in criminology and youth studies, said: “This really worries me. It makes me only more determined to do what I can to make a difference.”
She believes her campaign could bring light from tragedy – and hopes to meet the new government to share her thoughts.
“If they hear from someone like me they might think more about the impact of an overstretched probation service,” she added.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “This was a terrible crime and our heartfelt sympathies remain with the families of Samantha Drummonds, Denton Burke, Dolet Hill and Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo.
“The criminal justice system is in crisis and the new Government has taken immediate action to grasp this.
“We accept the very serious failings highlighted in this case and we are taking action.
“The new Lord Chancellor has also committed to recruiting 1,000 extra trainee probation officers to bolster robust supervision in the community and better protect the public.”
Sign Shan’s petition at Change.org.
Last month the Government announced more prisoners would be freed from jail early, in a bid to tackle prison overcrowding.
With only hundreds of places left in the adult male estate, prisons have been routinely operating at over 99 percent capacity since the start of 2023.
The Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood confirmed that the previous End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme will come to an end.
Originally launched in October 2023, this early release scheme initially saw prisoners released 18 days early, but the measure has been repeatedly expanded over the last six months.
Over the course of the scheme, over 10,000 offenders were released.
Instead, the government will temporarily reduce the proportion of certain custodial sentences served in prison from 50% to 40%, with exemptions to keep the public safe and clear release plans to manage them safely in the community.
Sentences for serious violent offences of four years or more, as well as sex offences will be automatically excluded, and, in an important distinction from End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme, the early release of offenders in prison for domestic abuse connected crimes will also be excluded. This will include:
Anyone released will be strictly monitored on licence by the Probation Service through measures which can include electronic tagging and curfews. They face being recalled to prison if they breach their licence conditions.
The new rules will also not apply to most serious offenders, who already either spend two-thirds of their sentence behind bars or have their release determined by the Parole Board.
