Richard Scatchard: Body found in search for sex offender wanted for woman's murder after 6 months

Police searching for a sex offender wanted for questioning after a woman’s murder have discovered a body in a caravan. Richard Scatchard, 70, from Minehead, Somerset, went missing after the death of Kelly Faiers, 61, from Weston-super-Mare, at his home address on October 15 last year.

Avon and Somerset Police previously warned that Scatchard, who was convicted of sexual offences in which he administered drugs to his victims, posed a serious risk to women he formed relationships with. The force said he was wanted on recall to prison, as well as in connection with the murder investigation into Ms Faiers’ death.

A member of the public called police to report the discovery of a man’s body inside a caravan near Cleeve Hill in Watchet, just after 2pm on April 4. The formal identification process has not yet been completed but police suspect the man is likely to be Scatchard.

Detective Superintendent Gary Haskins, of the major crime investigation team, said: “Kelly’s family have been informed of the latest development and we will keep them, and Richard Scatchard’s family, updated as our inquiries progress. Specialist family liaison officers continue to provide support to Kelly’s family at this difficult time.

“A forensic post-mortem examination will be carried out in due course, but we believe the man’s death occurred some time ago. Until that has been completed we will be treating the man’s death as unexplained, albeit we are not aware of any suspicious circumstances at this time.

“We would like to thank those people who have responded to the appeals for information we have issued over the past five and a half months and will continue to update the public as our inquiries progress.”

Avon and Somerset Police said Scatchard - a regular user of dating apps - has previously been convicted of sexual offences in which he administered drugs to his victims to enable his crimes. Officers were alerted to the sudden death of Faiers from Weston-super-Mare, at Scatchard’s address on Blenheim Road, Minehead on (October 15). A forensic post-mortem examination to determine the cause of Kelly’s death was inconclusive and her death was treated as suspicious.

The police have also released CCTV footage of the pair, who were in a relationship at the time, at a pub in Minehead on the evening of October 14, having a drink together. In the early hours of the following morning, Scatchard called the ambulance service to his home due to Faiers being critically ill. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police were then called minutes later by the ambulance service at 4.15am. The officers who were called out spoke to Scatchard before leaving. However, Scatchard's home was found to be empty when the police attempted to ask him further questions in the afternoon.

The police now believe Scatchard spent the night after Kelly’s death in the Watchet area between October 15 and 16, which he used to regularly visit. CCTV captured at about 9am on October 16 shows Scatchard in the Swain Street area of Watchet - his last sighting on CCTV. He was then seen near his home address in Minehead by a member of the public at about 10am on October 16.

Police have received around 100 unconfirmed reported sightings of Scatchard, mainly in the west Somerset area. On December 20, the family of Ms Faiers made a complaint about the police response to her death to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The force voluntarily referred the complaint to the IOPC on January 4. An IOPC spokesperson said: “We can confirm our investigation into Avon and Somerset Police’s response to the death of Kelly Faiers is ongoing. It follows a complaint referral from the force in January this year.”