Great-grandmother, 81, strangled by man who raped and murdered her daughter is denied compensation

On Media Outlook News: A great-grandmother who was strangled and left for dead by the man who had just raped and murdered her daughter has been denied compensation because her injuries were not severe enough, it has been reported.

Margaret Skidmore found Leroy Campbell hiding in the home of her daughter, Lisa, 37, in Bilston, West Midlands, after he had killed her, in November 2016.

A convicted rapist who was on probation, Campbell attacked Mrs Skidmore, strangling her with a vacuum cleaner cord and leaving her unconscious, while her daughter’s body lay in a room upstairs.

Campbell, who was later jailed for life, set fire to the house to cover his tracks. He believed Mrs Skidmore was dead, but neighbours rescued her from the house and she was treated in hospital, where doctors told her she had suffered a fractured jaw and cheekbone and extensive bruising.

However, The Telegraph has reported that Mrs Skidmore has been refused compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

In a letter, the organisation reportedly questioned whether Mrs Skidmore’s jaw had been broken, adding that it didn’t consider a fractured cheekbone to be ‘a continuing significant disability’.

It wrote: ‘The widespread bruising to your head, black eyes, bloody nose, bloodshot left eye, swelling over your cheek, tenderness around your jaw and bruising and cuts to your neck are not listed in Annex E. [We are] therefore unable to make an award for these injuries as they are not qualifying injuries.’

Mrs Skidmore told the newspaper: ‘It’s not about the money, it’s the principle. It adds insult to injury because right from the very start my family has had no rights in this case.’

Previously, the National Probation Service (NPS) acknowledged serious failures in the way Campbell was handled.

The decision comes after serial killer Levi Bellfield, who murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, was reportedly awarded nearly £6,000 in compensation for receiving a swollen lip in a prison fight.

Ian Austin, Labour MP for Dudley North, said the government needs to review its Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

He said: ‘The system clearly needs to be looked at properly and I’ll be demanding ministers explain what’s happened and what they’re going to do to prevent it happening again.

‘Ordinary decent people who go out to work and pay their taxes will be absolutely furious that their money gets handed out to someone like Bellfield, but a victim of a crime like this doesn’t get a penny.’

Last May, Campbell was given a whole life sentence after pleading guilty to the rape and murder of Lisa Skidmore and the attempted murder of her mother, as well as arson with intent to endanger life.