Sex killer 'could not be stopped'

Summers was jailed for a minimum of 20 years

A stalker who killed his ex-lover and then had sex with her corpse could not have been prevented from murdering her, an official report has found.

David Summers, 23, plagued Diane Edwards, 53, for weeks, before killing her at a house in Blyth, Northumberland, in October 2006.

The jilted lover ignored a string of court conditions to keep him from Ms Edwards and removed an electronic tag.

A Serious Case Review has found he "actively breached all restrictions."

Summers, of Brookside Avenue, Blyth, was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to murder and sexual interference with a corpse.

He had battered the mother-of-three to death.

Diane Edwards was fearful of Summers

The couple began a sexual relationship in late 2005, but by January 2006 Ms Edwards had ended their relationship.

She repeatedly told him it was over, but he began threatening her and was handed an injunction.

Summers was then given a suspended sentence rather than jailed for flouting the order.

He removed his electronic tag to get round restrictions which were meant to stop him visiting her home.

Ms Edward's family had previously demanded to know why Summers had not been jailed for his intimidation.

The review published on Friday by MAPPA, the multi-agency management scheme for violent offenders, said Summers had no regard for the law.

The heroin addict had "ignored or actively breached all restrictions placed upon him which were designed to protect Diane Edwards", according to the report.

MAPPA is to now tighten up its policies having found "the response by the agencies operating under MAPPA in relation to managing the risk posed by Summers could have been more robust".

Dave Gardiner, the Northumbria MAPPA Strategic Management Board chairman, said: "Realistically, we can never completely eliminate risk and sometimes, sadly, this has tragic consequences.

"But there are many more individuals successfully managed through MAPPA who do not reoffend."