A woman took her own life after blundering police left her traumatised by raiding her home and arresting her fiance at gunpoint in a case of mistaken identity, an inquest has concluded.
Even after Cherry Turner’s body was found near a bridge over the River Tyne, police failed to give her family an apology for their actions, a jury found.
On December 12, 2021 Craig Jackson was arrested in front of Ms Turner, 31, with the green lights from police rifles playing across the walls of their room while sirens wailed and police dogs barked outside.
Mr Jackson was led away in his underwear, leaving his fianceé shaking and distraught in the house.
An inquest in South Shields concluded on Friday that the incident led to Ms Turner developing an anxiety disorder which ultimately ended her life.
On July 1, 2022, seven months after her partner’s arrest, Ms Turner’s body was found below the Redheugh Bridge over the River Tyne.
The jury at South Tyneside Coroner’s Court recorded a narrative verdict that ‘A raid by armed police that was a mistake and was not apologised for sparked an anxiety disorder that led to her suicide.’
Tragically, the heartbroken Mr Jackson has also now died from cancer.
Cherry turner, 31, took her own life after police mistakenly raided her home and arrested her fiancé Craig Jackson at gun point (pictured together)
Mr Jackson was arrested and led away in his underwear by armed officers at his home just weeks before Christmas, leaving his fiancée shaken and distressed (pictured together)
Describing the raid on the couple’s home in Newcastle’s West End in a statement read to the hearing, Mr Jackson said: ‘I saw green dots reflecting from the wall from the armed police, dogs were barking, sirens were blaring and I was pinned to the ground.’
The inquest heard the police quickly realised they had arrested the wrong man, but it took them two months to notify the couple that Mr Jackson was no longer under investigation.
At a previous inquest hearing, Paul Dunn, the solicitor representing Ms Turner’s family, said that a number of police officers who were behind the raid ‘got the wrong man’ and mistakenly arrested Mr Jackson instead whilst investigating a ‘serious offence’ in the area.
He said: ‘That seems to have been admitted by Northumbria Police, but only admitted in the context of an investigation.
‘All [officers] concerned…were heavily engaged in attempting to detect those responsible in that crime, but potentially made individual errors in identifying the wrong man.’
The inquest heard that messages were exchanged between officers where they spoke of not getting the right man.
Mr Dunn continued: ‘This was not a routine knock on the door, it was the most intrusive of searches, involving multiple police vehicles, an armed response team, all with weapons which were trained on the bodies of Cherry Turner and Craig Jackson.
‘It was a full on search which we now know to have had dire consequences.’
Ms Turner had no previous issues with her mental health but the experience left her paranoid and anxious and an inquest has ruled the blunder police operation contributed to her death
Mr Dunn told the hearing that during Mr Jackson’s arrest, he was taken outside in his underwear before being taken to a police station.
He said Mr Jackson remained under investigation even after the real suspect was caught despite it being ‘abundantly clear that he was not the suspect in the case.’
The hearing was told that because of this, Ms Turner ‘felt the investigation was not all over.’
Mr Dunn added: ‘Every time she heard a police car, she was expecting the police to come back and that they had potentially bugged her house. No efforts on the part of her family would change her mind.’
Speaking after the inquest, Ms Turner’s father David Turner said their family had been living ‘a life sentence of pain’.
He added: ‘It’s so hard every day. You think of it, I would say 50, 60 times a day, you’re thinking “what’s happened about Cherry” and the sad loss, you know, we’re never going to see her again.’
Mr Jackson’s brother Jake Mottram said: ‘The police knew they’d got the wrong man the next day and should have put it right there and then.
‘If they had, Cherry’s mental health would not have deteriorated.’
The couple were left in limbo after police failed to inform them Mr Jackson was no longer under investigation (Mr Jackson and Ms Turner pictured together)
Family member Paula Gray issued a statement on behalf of Turner family.
She said: ‘Following the devastating loss of our beautiful Cherry Turner, our family has endured over three long years of waiting for answers.
‘This week, we finally stood together at the inquest, side by side with my sister Michelle, my brother-in-law Dave, Cherry’s sister Dani and her fiancé Jake, and Jacko’s family, his mam Sue, dad Ian, sister Sam and their families. And Cherry and Jacko’s close friends. Cherry’s younger brother, though unable to be there, carries this grief as deeply as we all do.
‘Nothing can truly put into words the pain Michelle and Dave have lived through, nor the heartbreak felt by Dani, Jake, and Cherry’s younger brother. As a family, our lives have been changed forever.’
She added she hoped that: ‘Cherry and Jacko’s story can be heard, honoured, and never forgotten.’
Ms Gray concluded: ‘Cherry and Jacko’s love was something truly special, two bright souls who brought light, laughter, and joy wherever they went.
‘The way they loved one another was pure and unbreakable, a love that will live on in our hearts forever. Though their time here was far too short, their bond and their memory will remain eternal.
‘The truth is finally out as to why Cherry and her beloved fiancé Jacko are no longer with us. They may be gone, but their love, their light, and their laughter will never fade.’
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: ‘We conducted an investigation and apologised to Cherry’s family and Craig Jackson for failings identified. We will now take time to carefully consider the findings of the inquest.’
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