This is the case that has the whole of the United Kingdom in suspense. On January 27, 2023, Nicola Bulley, 45, vanished while walking her dog on the banks of the River Wyre in Lancashire. The disappearance was reported around 10 a.m. when Nicola’s cocker spaniel, who had been spotted with his mistress around 9.20 a.m., was found alone and without a harness. A search was immediately launched in the River Wyre, but the 40-year-old remains untraceable for the moment.
Despite the vanity of the investigations, a twist took place in the case this Wednesday, February 15. Lancashire Police announced at a press conference that they had listed Nicola Bulley as a “high risk” missing person due to her “vulnerabilities”. “Unfortunately, after speaking with Paul (Paul Ansell, Nicola’s partner, editor’s note) and the family, it is clear that Nicola suffered from serious problems with alcohol, linked to the difficulties she was having with her menopause, and that his difficulties had resurfaced in recent months.” Police also revealed that they paid Nicola a routine visit in the week before he disappeared. A visit intended to check his state of mental health, unrelated to a possible domestic incident related to alcohol.
Nicola Bulley, an English legal fiasco?
Particularly revealing, this press conference put the United Kingdom in turmoil. On the social networks, many consider that this mother of a family without history did not deserve that her intimate problems are thrown into the food. “I have never seen such a level of detail revealed in a disappearance case, underlines the ex-police inspector Martyn Underhill. I do not see how that helps the case to progress now that they have been investigating for three weeks, to be honest.” “I didn’t feel invested in the Nicola Bulley case until the police used her as a shield to cover up their own incompetence,” protested Jamie Klingler, co-founder of the association. Reclaim These Streets. More generally, public opinion criticizes the treatment inflicted on women in the context of British police investigations.
At the same time, the profession points out that the police should, on the other hand, have spoken of the mental health problems of the mother of the family. “Had the police talked about his high-risk status from the start, the investigation would have been better understood, there would have been less confusion, public hysteria, media coverage (which the police failed to handle ) and harm done to Paul and the family, who are now lower than the ground”¸ tweeted Mark Williams-Thomas, ex-policeman turned journalist. “It is now clear that the police failed to secure the crime scene and quickly rule out a bad encounter because they considered Nicola Bulley to be a high risk person. But this decision has fueled speculation and criticism of police as trust in law enforcement is lower than ever.”
According to the Daily Mail, the revelations of the police around the intimate problems encountered by Nicola would have “left his family in agony”. For now, investigations are still ongoing.
Nicola Bulley © DR
