Dad felt 'sickening' horror after police officer shared pictures of his daughter's body


An Essex dad said he felt "sick" to learn that a police officer took pictures of his dead daughter before sharing them with his partner and brother. The man from Harlow said former PC Russell Hinkins "doesn't care" about anyone but himself and felt he could "do what he wanted" after the disgraced officer was locked up for misconduct.

Hinkins, 44, now of Haverhill, Suffolk, was jailed for four years on Monday (October 28) for misconduct in a public office which took place between 2017 and 2023. Hinkins resigned from the force in March last year, and later admitted the charge along with unauthorised access to information and sharing unlawfully obtained data.

Back in 2018, Hinkins attended the death of a 25-year-old woman named Hannah in Harlow. Hannah lived with a serious form of epilepsy since she was six months old and had sadly died overnight. When Hinkins attended, he took photos of Hannah's body for "non-evidential" reasons and shared them with his partner and brother.

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Speaking to EssexLive, Hannah's father said he "can't fault" the police's response at the time to his daughter's death and did not expect to be told of Hinkins' actions years later.

He said: "It wasn't until two or three years later that police contacted [my partner] and said they’ve had this come up. We went up to the police station and they told us what happened, and on the day it happened he took a picture of Hannah passed away in bed. We still haven’t seen the picture, we don’t know what it was, they won’t show it to us.

"[I felt] sick. It’s hard because you’re meant to trust the police, especially at times like this. You get one police officer in I don’t know how many doing stuff like this, and in court he’s trying to blame six other police officers, saying they’re all lying and not him, it is quite hard to take. It’s really hard to explain how you feel; you go through all that grief in the first place and see it all come up again when we find out."

He added: "It’s really hard to explain, he looks as if he just doesn't care, ‘I’m the police I can do whatever I like’, well it doesn’t work that way, does it? He was on leave, realised he wasn’t going to win it and then left. They would have sacked him, but until he’s charged they’ve got to leave him where he is.

"He’s just lying about everything; the fact that most of it has been done on his work phone, and the only way to do it is to transfer it onto his personal phone first, there’s a lot that goes into it.

'He made one of the hardest days of our lives even worse'

Hinkins’ multiple victims had statements read out in court during his sentencing, with many sharing how they were left “sickened” and “angry” at his misconduct and how they have lost trust in the police.

The mother of Hannah said: "I lost Hannah on March 2, 2018 and she was 25-years-old at the time. It was a very traumatic night for me and my family, her three siblings have been impacted by her loss. We are still dealing to this day with the grief of losing her.

"In March 2023, five years after losing Hannah, I was contacted by Essex Police's counter-corruption unit who informed me that an officer had shared [a picture] of the body with someone else. It made me feel sick, angry and confused. Even days after being told I couldn't believe it. I was and still am very upset by the officer's actions. It's retraumatised me and my family.

"I most likely will never find out why it happened and will have to deal with this for the rest of my life. The police were there on one of the worst days of our lives and one of the officers have made that even worse."

Former PC Russell Hinkins has been jailed for 4 years
Former PC Russell Hinkins has been jailed for 4 years -Credit:Essex Police

The son of Kelly Langford shared how when his mother died in May 2020 his "whole world had fallen apart" and that he was "angry and heartbroken" that she felt like there was no option but to end her life. He was informed of Hinkins' actions in February 2024 and it took him "right back to the day I lost my mum".

He said: "I felt I was being forced to re-live losing my mum. My mum was in a place where her only option was to die. I feel like this person has taken advantage of that. It has made me lose my confidence in Essex Police."

Kelly's mother said in a statement her daughter was "loved so much by everyone she met" and she was her "best friend" and "shopping buddy" as well as her child. She said their family's lives feel "empty" without her. She said: "I feel shocked and disgusted by the actions of Russell Hinkins. It's led us to have lost faith in Essex Police."

In 2019, Hinkins took and shared a picture of a missing 13-year-old girl, who was later found. The mother of this girl told the court she felt "sick to her stomach" when being told in 2024 that Hinkins had done this.

She said: "I phoned police the police for help. The police who you expect to help you. One of them took pictures of my daughter and shared them with his partner at the time. There is inappropriate photos of my daughter out there in the world which could surface at any time.

"I am absolutely disgusted by what he did. My daughter cried and started to panic about how many copies of the photo are out there. She or I will never trust the police again."

A detainee who Hinkins sent abusive messages about, along with pictures, said he felt "disappointed and violated" by the officer, saying his "dignity has been taken away". The man said despite being released by police he ended up losing a university place due to his mental health deteriorating which was contributed to by Hinkins' actions.

While Hinkins resigned from Essex Police in 2023, the force said he will still face misconduct proceedings. Deputy Chief Constable Andy Prophet said: “Russell Hinkins has caused a great deal of anger and distress to those involved and I want to apologise to them for his actions.

“They in no way represent the hardworking officers, staff, and volunteers who are dedicated professionals committed to keeping the public safe and catching criminals. What Hinkins has done is reprehensible and bears no resemblance to the ethics and values of Essex Police.

“These were deliberate acts and not a case of an officer who just made a mistake. I want to thank our Counter Corruption Unit for their investigation whose work uncovered the extent of Hinkins’ actions and led to him being charged and convicted. This was a long, complex and emotive case and their work has ensured Hinkins is now behind bars.”