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17
Aug
Life has 'lost its sparkle a bit', says sister of victim killed by Harrogate man
Warning: this article contains details some readers may find very distressing.
This story is the second in a two-part series. Gemma Simpson was considered a missing person for more than a decade. Her case went unsolved for 14 years, until her killer walked into a police station and confessed. Today, we speak to Gemma's sister, Krista, about what life has been like in the years following.
The first part was published yesterday.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the death of Gemma Simpson, who was brutally killed by Martin Bell at his Harrogate flat in 2000 and buried at Brimham Rocks.
Gemma, 23, was considered to be a missing person for 14 years, until Bell was convicted of manslaughter by diminished responsibility in 2014.
After more than a decade of torment, Gemma's family hoped his conviction would finally bring some respite - but this has still not transpired.
They have been seeking answers about what happened and live in fear of Bell's release.
Numerous inquiries into NHS mental health services and Bell’s psychiatric care were carried out in the wake of Gemma’s death.
Leeds Crown Court heard Bell took drugs and became involved in the occult when he was younger.
He was sectioned for nine months in 1999 after suffering from a “psychotic illness and serious delusional beliefs”.
Following one of the inquiries, a 73-page report published in 2018 found if Bell had complied with taking anti-psychotic medication and refrained from his misuse of cannabis, he may not have suffered a relapse of his psychotic illness.
“In these circumstances, the death of Gemma Simpson might have been prevented”, it adds.
The report also says:
At the point of discharge, staff were aware that MB’s [Martin Bell] delusions had not fully remitted; that he lacked insight; that there was a risk of non-compliance with prescribed medication, and; of a return to substance misuse. There was, therefore, a risk of a significant exacerbation of his delusional thinking because of these factors, and a return to the level of risk seen at the time of his initial admission, even if the risk to Gemma could not reasonably have been foreseen.
The report adds clinicians could not have ensured Bell took his medication and stopped smoking cannabis:
However, notwithstanding the failures in service provision outlined in this report, there were no actions that clinicians could have specifically taken to enforce the continuation of medication given MB’s presentation in May 2000, nor to enforce his abstinence from cannabis.
Bell has not yet completed his minimum term, which means he is not eligible for release until at least July 12, 2026, but Krista fears this is still too soon.
She said:
What reassurance do we have that he’s going to comply if he was let out? Who’s going to check on him - make sure he’s not doing drugs or taking medication?
His face didn’t change throughout the trial; he didn’t flinch. No tears, no remorse, no nothing on his face because I stared at him throughout.
Gemma (centre) with her sisters and mum.
What is life like now?
We asked Krista what life was like now.
It just feels like it’s never gone away. It just feels as though we’re having to fight instead of being able to sit back and remember Gemma for Gemma – not all this negativity.
We have to keep fighting for her. We just want to know his sentence has been served and she has got justice. But we don’t feel like that at the minute.
Krista is incredibly passionate about keeping Gemma’s story alive. She was controlled when we spoke, but became tearful when recounting one particular conversation she had after her sister’s death.
A good friend of mine just looked at me one day and she said: ‘You’ve lost your sparkle’. She told me I used to have a sparkle in my eye and it’s true, I did. I’m not the same person I was. It scars you for life.
Krista describes life as "duller” without Gemma, who she described as fiercely loyal and dedicated to her family. She added:
It’s milestones - like my nephew having a baby and my sister becoming a grandma, things like that - that she’s missed out on and she would’ve enjoyed so much.
Krista described the moment she found out Bell’s move to open prison was denied as “euphoric”, telling us she “burst into happy tears” in her car.
But she feels that was the only time justice has been on Gemma’s side in the last 25 years.
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