The loved ones of Kimberley McAssey, who lay dead in a flat for 30 hours before emergency services were called, have teamed up with other families in their fight to stop others facing the same lack of answers. James Holt reports.
Kimberley McAssey had a ‘beautiful smile’ and ‘contagious laugh’. Adored by her family, she was described as ‘one in a million’. She was well known, a familiar face at a local chip shop and a mum-of-one.
But her family and friends were hit with the most devastating news in 2021 when the 29-year-old was found dead in a flat in Prestwich.
She had spent the night of February 19 with Ryan Sheridan. The pair had been drinking and took a quantity of MDMA at the property at Sherbourne Court before going into the bedroom for sexual activity. By the following morning, Kimberley had tragically died.
For her family, the agony of her sudden loss remains just as profound almost five years on. They have no closure and are still in the dark about exactly what caused her death.
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This is because the alarm wasn’t raised straight away – but rather 30 hours after she is thought to have actually passed away. Sheridan, the sole witness to what happened that night in his flat, instead left the young mum lying lifeless in his bed.
An inquest previously heard how Sheridan first contacted his mother the next day, who went out to buy sandwiches and visit him at his flat before then deciding to call the emergency services. This was almost 31 hours later, on the morning of February 21. It was determined that Kimberley had actually died no later than 6am the day before.
The coroner at the hearing concluded that the delay had been a ‘conscious and calculated decision on Mr Sheridan’s part’. He instead claimed to have ‘panicked’, attempted to give CPR after realising her body was cold and wished he’d have rang police sooner ‘in retrospect’, but failed to do so over worries about already being on bail.
The delay meant Kimberley’s family still face a void of answers almost six years on. Kimberley’s cause of death could not be determined due to the state of decomposition her body was in.
The coroner recorded an open conclusion.
They are continuing to use their pain to fight for change. In the UK, it is currently not a criminal offence to not make the call for help if someone is in danger except for in specific duty of care circumstances.
Had that 999 call come much sooner, Kimberley’s family say they could’ve had the answers and closure they so desperately need.
The family’s push to make their voices heard in Parliament was launched last year, as they set up a campaign to stop others going through the same ordeal. Naming it ‘Kimberley’s Law’, their mission was to make it a crime to purposefully delay ringing emergency services in cases of medical emergencies.
But despite over 10,000 signatures and mounting support online, the Government issued a response saying it ‘had no plans to legislate to make it a crime to delay calling emergency services during a medical emergency’. The official response added: “The Government recognises the concerns raised by the petitioner, who seeks to make it a criminal offence for a person to deliberately delay calling emergency services, when witnessing a person in need of medical attention.
“The Government understands, that in many situations, a failure to act might feel morally wrong. In England and Wales, there is currently no general legal duty requiring members of the public to call emergency services in such situations. There are practical challenges to imposing a duty on all individuals to contact emergency services during medical emergencies.”
Kimberley’s family have now teamed up with a number of other families from across the UK, including with the relatives of Danielle Haggerty, from Ashton, who was found unconscious and later died after being left alone ‘in distress’ at her boyfriend’s flat. They have now collectively launched the FAITH movement, standing for ‘Families Acting for Immediate Threat Help’.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Kimberley’s auntie Shelly Crooks made another repeated call for a change to the law, warning that ‘this will only keep happening’. She said the family have never been able to accept that Kimberley’s cause of death could not be ascertained.
“Our petition ended after six months, so we put out a post last year asking if any other families had gone through similar situations,” she told the M.E.N. “We were absolutely overwhelmed. So many people got in touch from all over the country with different stories where people had failed to act.
“We all came together for this group; it’s a collaboration. We feel like we will be heard more as a group. What happened to Kimberley isn’t an isolated case, and all these people are facing similar struggles.
“For us to not be given her cause of death in itself was awful. To think what she must have gone through. But we will never know, because her body was left for so long it covered everything up. For a cause of death, it needs to be 100 per cent definite, and that’s why there’s this hole in the law.
“We couldn’t believe it was happening to us as a family. That’s why we know we can’t ever let this go. We can’t help Kimberley, but we can try our best to help others and make a change. Sometimes it doesn’t feel real that this has happened to us, but it has.
“The more you think about it, and the not knowing, the worse it feels. We always celebrate her birthday and remember her and try to keep as positive as we can. We are all doing this for her and we have to remind ourselves of that. I believe we are going to get there.”
Kimberley’s family are now supporting the campaign issued by the relatives of Danielle Haggerty, who launched their own calls for legislation reform. A petition was set up by Danielle’s brother Jonathan Haggerty, following an inquest into Danielle’s death.
A coroner ruled her death was ‘the unintended outcome of an act of self-harm at a time of distress, in the context of a volatile and abusive relationship, and in the immediate aftermath of a violent argument.’
The CPS did not bring any charges against a man who was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. The family appealed the decision but a letter sent by the CPS to the family, seen by the Manchester Evening News, said the suspect denied being present when Danielle harmed herself ‘or being involved in any way.’ The letter stated consideration had been given to several potential offences but that they believed the original decision not to press charges was correct.
Following Danielle’s death, her brother Jonathan is now calling for a ‘Danielle’s Law’ to help prevent future tragedies. The RAF Sergeant who lives in Audenshaw, has set up a parliamentary petition calling for it to be made a criminal offence to ‘abandon someone in immediate danger without seeking help.’
The petition, which already has over 11,000 signatures, says: “Other countries have ‘duty to rescue’ laws that protect vulnerable people and encourage intervention to save lives. Introducing a similar law in the UK would prevent future tragedies and ensure that anyone in immediate danger has someone legally required to try to save them so that no-one would ever be knowingly left alone to die.” It can be signed here.
Jonathan said that following the investigation and inquest into his sister’s death, he came to believe there is a ‘gap’ in the current legislation which needs to be filled. It has been backed by local MP and former Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner.
If his petition, which will remain open until June this year, reaches 10,000 signatures, the government will be required to respond. If it reaches 100,000, it will be considered for a debate in parliament, which Jonathan said ‘would be massive.’
“Since I’ve started the petition, more and more families have come forward and messaged us” he previously said. “So I’ve set up a group for families and there’s at least a dozen families in there at the minute and we’re all working together and strategizing.
“It won’t bring Danielle back and it won’t bring any justice. However it could stop other families going through this and could prevent other people being left. It could save lives because people know they’ll be held accountable.” He added that ‘seconds matter in these kinds of situations’ and that ‘a single phone call could save a life.’”
Kimberley’s auntie Shelly added: “There are so many loopholes. It could mean free reign for people to get away with things if they can’t determine someone’s cause of death. Families will keep having this happening to them if action isn’t taken.
“Everyone is on board, and we are trying to get to as many MPs willing to support us. We have so many people reaching out to us, campaigners and social justice groups. We have written to the King and Prime Minister, and are just trying to do so much in the background.”
Karrie McAssey, Ms McAssey’s mum, was one of a number of loved ones who tried to find her daughter on February 21, 2021, before they knew about her death.
Previously, she described her daughter as ‘cheeky, funny, silly, one in a million’. Kimberley had a daughter in 2013 who was ‘Kim’s whole life’, she said, adding: “She was a child at heart no matter her age. Her smile changed the world and she never let the world change her smile.
“She was her own person and that’s made Kim so special… We love and miss Kim so very much. Kim leaving us has turned our lives upside down and has destroyed our family.”
The FAITH movement involving tragic stories from a group of families across the UK can be found on social media here.