A woman stabbed to death by her abusive husband on Boxing Day tried to report him to Thames Valley Police several times but was not taken seriously, an inquest has found.

Angela Mittal, 41, was killed in 2018 by her controlling and physically abusive partner, Laurens Brands at their shared home in Parker Close, Shinfield. 

Reading Coroner's Court met for a ten-day-long inquest on Wednesday, July 17, where the five members of the jury heard a harrowing telephone call made by Angela when she first tried to report him to Thames Valley Police.

"I have a situation at home," she says in the recording. "My husband listens in on my calls, he monitors everything and he's constantly berating me."

She was told to come to Loddon Valley Police station where she detailed the abuse she was suffering.

On a 999 call on November 29, she said: "He made me quit my job and now he is saying 'you're costing me money' and telling me I can't do certain things. I can't even contact my parents."

In the opening of the inquest in 2023, Mittal’s family believed that her race and gender impacted the way her case was treated by agencies when she tried to seek help.

During the ten-day inquest, officers from Thames Valley Police and representatives from Wokingham Borough Council appeared in front of the jury where they gave statements on the happenings in the run-up to Angela's death.

On Friday, July 26, Coroner Heidi J Connor read out the verdict from the jury, including failings found within the police service regarding her case.

Connor said that failures by police included not recording the initial contact in November, not taking their initial assessment seriously, and not investigating crimes that were reported by Angela.

The coroner concluded: “The jury found that the admitted failures did not contribute to Angela's death.”

Despite this decision, Connor announced that she would be putting forward recommendations to the National Police Chief Council in order to learn from failures shown in the run up to Angela’s death.

She said: “Domestic abuse forms a huge part of policing works. 18 percent of recorded crime. Training confirms controlling behaviour is a big aspect in overall domestic abuse that happens.

“Front line staff need to have a clear understanding of how cohesive and emotional control takes form. We heard that there was a new tool to help with risk assessment.

“This however has not yet been adopted because of compatibility with niche system in Thames Valley Police and many other police forces.”

Brands, of Parker Close, Shinfield, previously admitted the murder at Reading Crown Court and was jailed for a minimum of 16 years and eight months the following May.

Across the UK, two women are killed at the hands of their partner or someone they know each week. 

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated that 5.0% of adults (6.9% women and 3.0% men) aged 16 years and over experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2022; this equates to an estimated 2.4 million adults (1.7 million women and 699,000 men).