Lisa Skidmore murder: Grandmother strangled by her daughter's rapist refused compensation
A great-grandmother who was strangled with a vacuum hose by a man who had just raped and murdered her daughter has been refused compensation after being told her injuries were not severe enough.
Margaret Skidmore, 81, was herself attacked and left for dead by Leroy Campbell after she found him at her daughter Lisa's home in Bilston after he had killed her.
The news comes despite a recent decision to pay serial killer Levi Bellfield almost £6,000 after making a claim against the prison service for a swollen lip sustained in a prison fight in jail.
Mrs Skidmore was punched in the head several times by Campbell before he wrapped a vacuum cleaner cord around her neck until she passed out.
Hours earlier Campbell, a serial sex attacker who was on probation, had brutally raped and killed her 37-year-old daughter Lisa, a nurse at Bilston Health Centre, in her upstairs bedroom after putting up a ladder and climbing in through the window. The convicted rapist was later jailed for life.
Despite her ordeal, Mrs Skidmore has been told by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, the body in charge of awarding taxypayer-funded payouts to victims of violent crime, that her injuries do not meet the threshold for compensation.
Today Lisa's sister Mrs Alison Parker said: "It's a joke."
The decision comes in spite of the National Probation Service acknowledging there were serious failures in their handling of Campbell.
Mrs Skidmore said: "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."
Ian Austin, Labour MP for Dudley North, has reacted angrily, calling on the government 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."
In a letter outlining their decision, the CICA said: "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."
The decision to refuse Mrs Skidmore compensation comes as Millie Dowler killer Levi Bellfield was reportedly awarded nearly £6,000 after receiving a swollen lip in a fight behind bars.
During his trial it emerged that Campbell, a paranoid schizophrenic, had been watching Lisa for weeks - even telling his probation officer that he 'felt like raping' someone again.
Mrs Skidmore walked in on him during a visit to check on her daughter who was off work sick. Despite being frail and needing sticks to walk, the courageous great-grandmother confronted the intruder when she found him hiding in her daughter's kitchen.
Coming round on the floor after the attack, she alerted police on her mobile phone. Neighbours came to the door after spotting smoke – Campbell had set fire to the house to cover his tracks before fleeing – but they were forced back by the fumes.
As she was being treated for her injuries outside the property in Mill Croft, Mrs Skidmore's daughter Joyce broke the news that Lisa was dead.
At Birmingham Crown Court last May, Campbell was handed a whole life sentence by Judge Mark Wall for his ‘grotesque’ deeds, which included attempting to murder Mrs Skidmore and arson.
Afterwards Mrs Skidmore said that Campbell had continued to put the family through hell following Lisa’s murder, calling for a second post mortem and not revealing his guilty plea until the 11th hour.
She told the Express & Star afterwards: "The pain never goes away. I lost a daughter, my friend and carer.
“Our family has suffered a tremendous loss because of an evil scumbag like him. He can still breathe, and enjoy three meals a day and a bed at the taxpayers’ expense. My daughter can’t."
The Skidmore family set up a fund in Lisa’s memory to raise money to help send children affected by murder on holiday this summer. Lisa’s Magical Memory Fund can be found on uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SomeoneSpecial/LisaSkidmore1.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “This was an appalling crime. We have apologised to the family for the failings in this tragic case, and our thoughts remain with them.
“NPS Midlands is working with the police to take decisive action on the recommendations made in the reviews into this case, including staff undergoing additional specialist training to help prevent any repeat.”
