'Missed chances' to stop sister killer

REVIEW FINDS AUTHORITIES 'UNDERESTIMATED' RISK POSED BY BROTHER WHO PREVIOUSLY STABBED SIBLING

- CHARLOTTE GREEN

A MAN who choked his ‘kind’ sister to death after an argument at a caravan park had previously stabbed her with scissors and authorities ‘underestimated’ the risk he posed to family members, a review has found.

Matthew Selby, now 20, killed his 15-year-old sister Amanda in a caravan at the Ty Mawr Holiday Park in Conwy, North Wales, in July 2021

This month the Court of Appeal increased the time Selby, from Ashton-under-Lyne, must serve in prison to life. He had pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility in December. The court in London heard the siblings had been on holiday with their father when they returned to their caravan after a trip and began arguing.

Selby, who is autistic and has intermittent explosive disorder, which causes aggressive outbursts, lunged at his sister after she hit him with a plug, causing a minor injury to his bottom lip. She then fell to the floor between two beds in the room before Selby began choking her.

A review of the events leading up to Amanda’s death by the Tameside Safeguarding Children Partnership found that there were a number of missed opportunities over three years that may have identified ‘escalating risk’ in relation to Selby.