Red Cross worker’s death ruled ‘unlawful’ by coroner

A Red Cross worker thought to have been murdered by her ex-boyfriend was unlawfully killed, a coroner ruled yesterday.

The body of Angela Hoyt, 34, was discovered in May last year, just days before her former partner, Martin Collett, was found dead.

Detectives launched a manhunt for 35-year-old Collett after Miss Hoyt was found dead at her home in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

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Hertfordshire Coroner Edward Thomas ruled that Collett, who was struck just north of Hatfield station by a train travelling at 100mph, had taken his own life.

The inquest heard Ms Hoyt, who may have been attacked while running a bath, had been to police about Collett two days before the time she is thought to have been killed.

She believed he had hacked into her Facebook and Hotmail accounts and arranged for emails to be sent in her name and material added to her Facebook account which placed her impartiality as a Red Cross worker at risk.

Police suggested he should be served with a harassment warning but she asked for more time to sort the situation out on her own.

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Mr Thomas said: “The police response was appropriate and compassionate.”

He was told Collett had drawn up a list of pros and cons of living without Ms Hoyt, and there were no pros, only cons. And a printed out sheet of emails which was found had the word “unforgivable” in his handwriting next to one concerning a new relationship she had made.

Collett had worked as a briefing manager for Labour Home Secretaries David Blunkett and Charles Clarke at about the same time that Ms Hoyt was a junior member of the Home Office media team.

Ms Hoyt, who was born in Windsor, in Ontario, Canada, had been working for the Red Cross since 2008 and had recently returned from three-months in Pakistan as part of her work as a public affairs and communications adviser.

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The coroner said post mortem examinations showed she died as a result of compression of the neck and Collett from multiple injuries consistent with being struck by a train.

Ms Hoyt was found face down in a bath and her blue “hoodie” was sodden. There was no water in the bath but the plug had a slow leak, the coroner was told.

The coroner concluded that in all probability Ms Hoyt was killed on Sunday May 22 – two days before her body was found.

Pc Sarah Henderson told the hearing Ms Hoyt went in to see officers on Friday May 20 and told them she had phoned Collett about the hacking on May 17 but he replied “nothing to do with me” and started to laugh, saying “I’m not some walkover, and you’re going to pay for this”.

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Ms Hoyt said he had never been violent to her and the officer found nothing on him in checks and decided it was a “standard” risk, with no concerns about the course of action Ms Hoyt wished to follow.