'Monster should not have been free to kill my mum'

DAUGHTER SAYS LAW FAILED HER FAMILY AS SHE BACKS M.E.N CAMPAIGN.

- JOSEPH TIMAN

CHRISTMAS was Caroline Gore's favourite time of year.

"You could always count on her to have the decorations up and presents wrapped by the start of October," her daughter Megan says.

But last year, she didn't get to put her new baubles up on the Christmas tree. The day after she bought them, Caroline, a kind and caring cleaner from Wigan, was killed by her violent and abusive ex-partner in her flat at Douglas House on the Scholes estate.

David Liptrot brutally stabbed the 44-year-old mother and grandmother-of-two after lying in wait until she returned home on the night of October 29. Liptrot left Caroline on the bathroom floor, took her phone and locked the door behind him.

That phone, which was never returned to her family, held the only photos of Megan and her mum together. They are lost forever.

Less than four weeks before Liptrot, 56, murdered Caroline, he was up in court again for breaching a restraining order which prohibited him from contacting her.

He ignored this order repeatedly, writing to her from prison and visiting her upon release.

But rather than being sent to prison for breaching the order again, he was released days later after receiving a suspended sentence.

Caroline's family believe the justice system failed her, telling the Manchester Evening News "she'd still be here if they kept him in".

They have called for a change in the law. Last week, the M.E.N launched a campaign calling for the government to introduce a mandatory minimum prison term for breaches of protective orders, like the one Liptrot ignored and was allowed to get away with.

More than 1,000 people have already signed our petition which was launched earlier this month.

Our campaign has also been backed by domestic abuse charities, Wigan council and several MPs and now, Caroline's family have spoken out in support of it, too.