Every third day, in our #EveryThreeDays campaign, I write about a woman killed by a man. Previously in this campaign, which started on May 2nd 2021, we have remembered 64 women, the last being Sabrina Mullings, 38, who her fiancee Ivan Griffin, 24, just hours after enjoying themselves dancing.
Today we remember Tina Billingham murdered by her partner Ronald Cooke
Tina Billingham told a nurse she feared her abusive partner would kill her four years before he stabbed her to death, a report has revealed.
Ronald Cooke was jailed for life for her murder in 2017.
A domestic homicide review said Cooke had a history of “violent & unpredictable behaviour to women”. Ch Supt Richard Youds, chair of the partnership which carried out the review, said agencies had “missed opportunities” to help Ms Billingham.
Cooke, 55, attacked Ms Billingham at their home in Cradley Heath in February 2017, before driving her to a doctor’s surgery.
The review found Ms Billingham, 54, had informed three professionals she was being abused but only once in 10 years was she offered specialist domestic abuse help. After meeting in 1999 Cooke, of Granville Road, was “abusive and controlling” to Ms Billingham, the report said. She visited her GP multiple times reporting depression, but there was a lack of “professional curiosity” into its cause.
In March 2013, she told a nurse she feared Cooke might kill her, but this disclosure “produced no action that she felt would make her safer” and she was referred for counselling. Ch Supt Youds, of the Safer Sandwell Partnership, said organisations accepted the review’s recommendations, while improvements had already been made to services – including increased training for staff.
A statement from Ms Billingham’s family said: “No person should have to go through the pain of losing a loved one through domestic abuse.
Tina Billingham
#EveryThreeDays
