Police missed chances to safeguard a 'much-loved' pensioner who was brutally murdered and dismembered by a depraved lodger, an inquiry found.
Graham Snell, 71, is thought to have been killed a day after he visited a police station to complain that Daniel Walsh was staying at his Chesterfield home uninvited and had stolen cash from his bank account.
Walsh, 30, was jailed for life with a minimum of 27 years for the murder of Snell, whose body was dumped in several locations including a badger den, communal bins and remote woodland.
An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into Derbyshire Constabulary's contact with Mr Snell, published today, found that opportunities for intervention were missed by the force.
The IOPC said police did not run checks which would have revealed that Walsh was wanted for robbery.
Daniel Walsh (left), 30, murdered Graham Snell (right) and cut up his 'much-loved' victim into 10 pieces after the 71-year-old caught him stealing from his bank account in June 2019
Police called to Mr Snell's house in Chesterfield after he reported his problems with Walsh
The report said Mr Snell visited Chesterfield police station on June 19, 2019, a day before he is believed to have been murdered in Derbyshire.
IOPC investigators focused on police efforts to contact and safeguard the victim between June 19 and 30.
Evidence gathered by the IOPC indicated that safeguarding opportunities were missed when the inquiry officer who spoke to Mr Snell at the station treated it as anti-social behaviour, although noting that verbal threats had allegedly been made by Walsh and Mr Snell feared he might be harmed.
The inquiry officer and a police constable assigned to visit Mr Snell did not record an offence or carry out checks, which would have shown that Walsh was wanted and had a history of violence.
There was no answer when the constable went to Mr Snell's address in Chesterfield on June 20, and the officer was 'de-assigned' from the incident - with the case remaining on a tasking list.
Walsh stuffed most of Mr Snell's remains down a badger den and dumped the other body parts in communal bins and remote woodland in Chesterfield. Pictured: Stock image
But the IOPC said a systemic
