Gracie Spinks: 'Obsessed' man killed ex-colleague, inquest hears

A young woman is believed to have been fatally stabbed by an "obsessed" man despite stalking concerns being raised with police, an inquest jury has heard.

Gracie Spinks, 23, died on 18 June 2021 from 10 stab wounds believed to have been inflicted by her former colleague Michael Sellers.

An inquest in Chesterfield heard this was six months after she refused to have a romantic relationship with him.

Sellers is then thought to have killed himself after killing Miss Spinks.

He was found dead 150m (492ft) away from where she was found in Duckmanton in Derbyshire, with a note saying he "could not deal with all of her lies".

The coroner told the inquest jury this was one of "various pieces of evidence" Sellers had killed Miss Spinks and then killed himself.

Resuming an inquest at Chesterfield Coroner's Court, Matthew Kewley, assistant coroner for Derby and Derbyshire, said Miss Spinks had reported Sellers to both their employer Xbite and police over stalking concerns in the months before she was killed.

Sellers was given "words of advice" by officers, the inquest heard.

The coroner said police also took no action when a bag of weapons was found near where Miss Spinks's horse was kept just over a month before her death.

The bag included a note saying "do not lie".

The coroner gave jurors an outline of what happened on the morning Miss Spinks died.

"Gracie left home early to go and see her horse in the field," he said.

"Just after 8am, a number of other people arrived at the field and Gracie was found lying on the ground and a man was seen running away.

"It was initially thought she may have been attacked by a horse.

"At about 8.13am the emergency services were called. Paramedics went to the field.

"The emergency services did the best they could to save Gracie. Sadly they were unable to do so and sadly she died at about 8.50am.

"While the emergency services were attending to Gracie, a knife was found near to where Gracie was discovered.

"Soon a possible link was made with Michael Sellers. At around 11am, Michael Sellers was also found and he was deceased.

"It appeared that Michael Sellers had taken his own life and a suicide note was recovered."

Miss Spinks was later deemed to have died from a stab wound to the neck, with paramedics who attended the scene describing "catastrophic" bleeding.

The coroner also summarised the background to the case, and explained how Miss Spinks and Sellers knew each other.

Mr Kewley said Miss Spinks first met Sellers when she got a job at a warehouse run by e-commerce firm Xbite in April 2020.

Sellers, a supervisor, had been with the company since 2015 and had been the subject of complaints from "a number of female colleagues" about his behaviour towards them.

He "started to show an interest" in Miss Spinks and the pair met up outside work "on a number of occasions", but she decided in December 2020 that she did not wish to continue meeting up or be in a relationship with him.

Mr Kewley said: "Michael Sellers could not accept Gracie Spinks's decision and he did not respect her decision.

"Mr Sellers would continue to try and engage with Gracie and would persistently ask other staff for information about Gracie.

"It would appear that Mr Sellers had become obsessed with Gracie and could not accept her decision."

On 4 January 2021, Miss Spinks was travelling to Blue Lodge Farm, where her horse, Paddy, was stabled, when she saw Sellers parked in a lay-by.

She reported the incident to Xbite, with Sellers suspended and later dismissed, but during the disciplinary process he said he "thought Gracie had lied about the nature of the relationship between them", Mr Kewley said.

A month later Miss Spinks reported her concerns to Derbyshire Police, claiming she was worried about a repeat of the incident, but the inquest heard he was only given "words of advice" following an investigation.

Then, on 6 May that year, a member of the public found a rucksack containing knives, an axe and a hammer near the farm, along with a note which read "do not lie".

It also contained a Marks & Spencer receipt, which was traced back to one of Sellers' relatives after his death, but officers "were not concerned" and no further action was taken.

Following the deaths, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said five Derbyshire Police officers had cases to answer for misconduct.

Mr Kewley told the jurors they are tasked with finding how, on the balance of probabilities, Miss Spinks died, including whether police could or should have done more to investigate the incidents prior to her death.

The inquest is expected to take four weeks, and Sellers' inquest will be held after it has concluded.

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