Exclusive: Mother told to delete review into daughter’s death or risk prosecution

By Jamie Roberton

A grieving mother who believes her daughter died in suspicious circumstances is now being threatened with possible prosecution unless she deletes a highly critical official review into police actions, Channel 4 News can reveal.

Danielle Charters-Christie was found dead inside the caravan that she shared with her partner – who had been accused of domestic abuse – in Gloucestershire on 26 February 2021.

The 25-year-old’s death was declared a suicide within 55 minutes of police arriving at the scene.

A Victim’s Right to Review, requested by Ms Charters-Christie’s family, detailed a failure by Gloucestershire Police to forensically examine the porch where her body was found.

The caravan was later found to have been “disposed of” by the time of her partner’s arrest on suspicion of murder around 13 months later.

The review also revealed a decision to grant a request from the alleged perpetrator’s father – a local undertaker – to personally move Ms Charters-Christie’s body to a morgue, a decision described as “wholly inappropriate” by her family.

The 74-page document was directly handed to Caroline Charters in June 2024 and listed as “not protectively marked” – the lowest level of designated protection when dealing with sensitive information.

Channel 4 News reported the contents of the review in October, with Gloucestershire Police Assistant Chief Constable Arman Mathieson offering an interview to admit that “evidential opportunities had not been taken” and that there were “lessons for us all to learn” from the case.

In February, Caroline Charters was visited by two Gloucestershire Police officers to demand that she delete the Victim’s Right to Review citing a “serious data breach.”

Ms Charters has refused to do so, accusing the force of “trying to silence her for exposing their failings”.

The mother-of-four has been told that unless she complies, she could face prosecution under the Data Protection Act 2018.

”This document is really important for me because it proves how the police did not adequately investigate my daughter’s death,” Caroline Charters told Channel 4 News.

”My daughter deserves justice. I want accountability. My other living children deserve to know the truth about what’s happened to their sister and how she was failed by the police – the people that are supposed to protect you.”

A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Police said:

“While we are empathetic to Caroline’s concerns relating to our request, we have a legal duty to protect those whose information we inadvertently released.”

Caroline Charters received a text message from a Gloucestershire Police Officer on 11 February requesting a face-to-face meeting to “discuss/share some new information”.

Ms Charters said she believed the force had “discovered something new about my daughter, some new piece of evidence” that could be significant in the case.

The two attending officers, instead, hand-delivered letters demanding that Ms Charters “destroy” all physical and electronic copies of the Victim’s Right to Review into her daughter’s death, threatening “legal enforcement action” if she failed to do so.

The letter claimed that fresh legal advice obtained by the force determined that the document was “not shared [by the police] lawfully”.

“We trust that you will comply with these requests in the interest of ensuring that both you and the Constabulary remain within the bounds of the law,” the letter read.

“We trust that you will comply with these requests in the interest of ensuring that both you and the Constabulary remain within the bounds of the law.” – police letter

Ms Charters said: “They [Gloucestershire Police] went on national telly and admitted that if they had considered domestic abuse, controlling and coercive behaviour at the scene, that the outcome could have been different.”

”Yet they’re turning it round on me now and trying to come after me – I’m absolutely appalled.”

Caroline Charters and her daughter, Danielle

An email, sent by Gloucestershire Police to Ms Charters two weeks ago, said that any legal action taken taken against her would focus on the Data Protection Act 2018 section 170 criminal offence of “a person knowingly or recklessly, after obtaining personal data, to retain it without the consent of the person who was the controller.“

Ms Charters said: “It seems to me that crimes are going un-investigated all the time, and yet they seem to have the resources to be able to come after me.”

The force has sent Ms Charters a six-page document – described as an “outcome letter” – to replace the 74-page document. This letter removes all the detailed findings listed in the original review.

A Right to Review

The Victim’s Right to Review, commissioned by Gloucestershire Police but conducted by a senior police officer from Wiltshire Police, revealed that:

The author of the review concluded: “History cannot be changed. This will inevitably be frustrating for Danielle’s family and friends. There are several unanswered questions that cannot and will not ever be answered.”

Ms Charters-Christie’s former partner was released without charge after being questioned on suspicion of murder in April 2022, with police citing a lack of evidence and unrealistic prospect of conviction.

He has never responded to Channel 4 News’ request for a comment in response to Ms Charters-Christie’s death.

Caroline Charters has said she will continue to refuse to delete the Victim’s Right to Review, which she believes exposes the shortcomings in the investigation into her daughter’s death.

She has had to warn her children’s schools that she could face police action, as well as her employer.

“Danielle was such a bright, intelligent young woman who fought for everything that she believed was right – that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing now,” she added.

In a statement, Gloucestershire Police said:

“This breach is now being formally investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

We are sorry for our oversight which we recognise has caused additional upset to Danielle’s family.

However, on identifying this breach, we had an obligation to ensure the personal data was secured, in line with the Data Protection Act.

We subsequently wrote to Caroline to explain the situation and asked her to destroy the VRRs she was provided. We hand delivered this letter in February as we felt it was important she had a face-to-face explanation and so we could ensure she had access to any support she may need.

We’ve since supplied her with a summary document of the VRRs, which is compliant with national guidance and which doesn’t include personal data.

“While we are empathetic to Caroline’s concerns relating to our request, we have a legal duty to protect those whose information we inadvertently released.

“Our thoughts continue to be with Caroline and Danielle’s wider family and we remain committed to being open and transparent with them, and the wider public, about this case.”