Following an inquest at Sheffield Medico Legal Centre into the death of 74-year-old Roger Leadbeater, his family slammed Greater Manchester Police, South Yorkshire Police and Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust for failing to keep people safe.
Roger suffered 57 stab wounds and a number of other injuries in a random attack while walking his beloved springer spaniel, Max, in parkland off Shortbrook Close Westfield, on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.
His attacker was 32-year-old Emma Borowy, who had absconded from a ward at Royal Bolton Hospital, where she was being detained under the Mental Helath Act.
After the fatal stabbing, Roger’s attacker said that she had the knife and was looking for someone to kill, explaining that voices had told her to do it.
She died in prison four months after the attack.
Borowy was known to police, and had previously assaulted her partner and brother, the court was told.
In October 2022 she was arrested by police after killing and burying two goats because ‘Lucifer told her to’, Coroner Tanyka Rawden explained today.
In summarising her evidence, the coroner said that Borowy had beliefs about being abducted by aliens and communicating with the devil, and was detained in hospital as it was deemed she was a risk to animals and people.
During her detainment, she absconded nine times, attempted to flee 15 times and failed return from leave three times.
During one of her escapes, she was caught by police on a train with a knife and hammer, and at a later date in Sheffield with a knife, the inquest was told.
After one escape, a risk assessment was conducted, which the coroner said was made with ‘incorrect’ information.
“It did not include the assault of a member of staff or incidents of aggression, referring only to past history,” she added.
“The risk assessment said there was no evidence of using or carrying weapons, which was contrary to what was known at the time.”
On August 7, Borowy was given escorted leave, despite this not being in line with Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust (GMMHT) policy, which the court heard required a meeting with the multi-disciplinary team that was scheduled for the following day.
If that meeting had gone ahead, Mrs Rawden said: “It was likely that the risk factors would have been too high and leave would not have been granted”.
The coroner said that despite previous evidence showing that Borowy had a tendency to visit Sheffield to see friends, police did not pass information between forces.
On August 9, one of Borowy’s friends called police to say that she was being followed, the court heard, however there was differing spellings of her names on records.
Later that same night, the inquest was told that Roger returned home from visiting family, before leaving to walk his dog, when tragedy struck.
Borowy, who in police interviews read at the court said she had believed the devil had wanted her to kill, ran into Roger, stabbing him 57 times.
The coroner ruled Roger’s death as an unlawful killing.
After the hearing, family gathered outside, with Roger’s niece, Angela Hector, saying: “On August 9, 2023, our lives were shattered forever.
“Roger was brutally attacked by a stranger while walking his beloved dog, Max. What happened that night was not just violence it was barbaric beyond comprehension.
“Roger suffered 124 injuries. He was stabbed through his eye, his skull, his body torn apart. The only organ left intact was his heart.
“This is like a horror film you cannot switch off, except this is real. And it was Roger. Our Roger.
“The nightmares never end.
“I ask those who were in positions of trust – GMMHT, GMP and SYP – Emma Borowy put her trust in you to keep her safe and well. The public put their trust in you to protect us.
“You all failed on every level.
“Roger will never come home, that outcome cannot change. But you must make sure no other family suffers this devastation. You must make sure lessons are learned. You must make sure that for once accountability leads to effective action.
“That is the only justice left for Roger and the only way to honour his memory.”
In court, the coroner had said she was ‘unimpressed’ by how police had handled the inquest into the death. She opened it in 2024 before adjourning to allow for a report from an expert psychiatrist to be written.
This ongoing search for answers continued in the beginning of 2026, when the inquest was reopened and over the past few weeks Mrs Rawden has been gathering information from Greater Manchester Police (GMP), South Yorkshire Police (SYP) and GMMHT to understand the full circumstances surrounding the fatal stabbing.
Over the course of the past two weeks, the inquest was told how despite plans to do so, a standardised ‘information handover process’ between SYP and GMP had not been implemented since Roger’s death, which Mrs Rawden said ‘disappointed’ and ‘concerned’ her.
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Speaking to the two police forces, she said how ‘unimpressed’ she had been with their handling of the inquest, clarifying that both had failed to present documents requested – with Greater Manchester Police sending over a form only hours before today’s hearing was set to start.
She told the court how improvements at South Yorkshire Police were only implemented 24 hours after she criticised the force in court as part of the inquest proceedings, adding: “This does little to alleviate my concerns.”
South Yorkshire Police had also shown little concern to the national picture, the coroner added.
The coroner’s final responsibility was deciding whether to produce a ‘prevention of future deaths’ report.
She said that she believed Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust had shown plans to improve and asked for an updated report on how those changes were being implemented by August 12 this year.
Meanwhile, prevention of future deaths reports will be presented to both forces, as well as national policing bodies like the Home Office and College of Policing.
