More than a year after the mysterious death of a 27 -year -old, found in her apartment of Lancaster, Englandhis family continues with his claim of justice with the conviction that it was brutally murdered And that, for a chain of «incredible» police failures, they still did not find the culprit.
Katie Beattie27 years, she was found dead in her department on July 1, 2024. Her sister, Kellie Rhodesexpressed her fear that Katie, who suffered from Addison’s disease and was diagnosed with autism, They sexually assaulted her, injected a substance and abandoned her to her fate.
When firefighters forced the door, It is believed that Katie had been dead for several days. The young woman was found by wearing only a crop top and «an average», and His body presented 16 bruises and abrasions.
According to the British media Daily Mailthe family worried after not having news from Katie for a weekend. The mystery was deepened with the images of the security cameras of the building that a neighbor provided to the family. The images showed Katie to enter his department on Friday with a manwho did not go out until Sunday afternoon.
Katie Beattie, 27, was found dead in her department on July 1, 2024. Photo: Facebook/Kellie Rhodes.Police initially arrested the man seen in the filming in relation to the case, but the charges were removed by the Crown Prosecutor’s Office (CPS) Due to the lack of evidence. However, the family is still convinced of the guilt of man.
In fact, The suspect lied in his police statementclaiming to have returned on Sunday night, which was denied by the material of the cameras. When confronted with lies, the man refused to make more comments.
Errors and negligence that hindered the search for justice
To further complicate the search for truth, Police acknowledged that he lost vital material from security cameras. An internal police report revealed that 38 video files were corrupted during a transfer and could not reproduce.
The police concluded that, due to this lost footage, it is not possible to establish precisely whether or not the man returned to the floor, although «the possibility exists.»
Kellie said that her mother immediately knew what had happened when she learned that Katie was found with «an average», since Katie had revealed him in the past that this was what men did.
The postmortem report indicated the existence of A possible needle puncture mark between Katie’s feet fingers. The family insisted that Katie was not injected, something documented in her medical records. However, the pathologist initially attributed the 16 bruises to someone with that «lifestyle.»
The family believes that she was sexually assaulted, drugged with a substance and abandoned to her fate. Photo: Facebook/Kellie Rhodes.The investigation was compromised by the delay: the postmortem exam was postponed nine days. Then, The body was too broken to determine the cause of death. Katie’s blood had also coagulated, making it impossible for the toxicologist to obtain precise results.
Katie’s family believes that the investigation was «vitiated» from the beginning. Kellie argues that the police «ruled out Katie» due to their mental health problems and substance abuse.
The investigation was formally discontinued on August 10, 2025. Although firefighters alerted the authorities, the police took almost an hour to arrive After the paramedics declared her dead.
An officer supposedly commented on two empty vodka bottles, referring to Katie as «one of those» And he suggested that «he had simply fallen asleep.» Kellie felt that from that moment on, the police had already made a decision, discriminating to Katie.
The family too He heard «totally disrespectful» comments Of the officers, when it insinuates to carry an air fryer during the forensic search on Katie’s floor, two months after his death.
The family claims that the authorities investigate and thus obtain justice. Photo: Facebook/Kellie Rhodes.Although the inspector Detective Hrynkow of the Lancashire Police confirmed that The lack of evidence of the cameras prevented a complete probative review of the case On the part of the CPS, he directly contradicted family concerns about the needle brand.
He said that «there are no records that the police have that blood has ever seen Katie’s fingers or feet.»
A claim of justice that does not cease, despite the obstacles
Due to poor police investigation, The cause of Katie’s death was documented by the coroner as indeterminate: «It was not possible with the available evidence to determine how Miss Beattie died.»
The family, backed by the local deputy Cat Smithdoes not give up and is promoting the «Ley Katie Beth»an initiative that requires that all inexplicable or suspicious deaths receive a complete forensic examination within 24 hours to ensure that crucial evidence is preserved.
Kellie states that, although «mentally and physically exhausted by constant battle», he will never abandon his struggle for justice for Katie.
