Woman who shouted her address in 999 call was killed four minutes later by her husband

A woman who desperately shouted her address to a 999 operator while she was attacked by her husband was murdered by him four minutes later.

Victoria Bance was stabbed more than 20 times by Robert Bance after a row sparked when she spoke to another man in a pub.

The 37-year-old victim dialled 999 during the terrifying incident where she begged officers to come to her aid.

Mrs Bance could be also be heard in the background shouting their address – but no officers were sent.

Call handlers then phoned back but Robert Bance picked up the phone and fobbed them off by telling them nothing was wrong.

A few minutes later Robert Bance, 53, then called 999 and told operators: ‘I have just killed my wife’, adding ‘I have stabbed her, she is dead.’

Police arrived within five minutes to find Victoria lying on their bed. She had a slight pulse but was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

A police watchdog’s report has now been released and criticised the call handler for not sending officers to the address.

The report says they also did not register the incident on police computer systems nor even alert their supervisor to the desperate plea.

Drunken Robert Bance was subsequently jailed for life after he told by the judge he must serve a minimum of 15 years after he pleaded guilty to murder which was ‘committed in a cold and deliberate rage’.

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Police and paramedics who attended their home in Plymouth, Devon, and found she had suffered 23 knife wounds inflicted with a 17cm long Commando knife, including 14 deep stab wounds to her chest – any of which would have been fatal.

Prosecutor Simon Laws QC stated that Victoria was able to cry outpouring the phone call before there were beeps on the line as if someone was trying to grab the handset.

He said it was clear there was a struggle going on.

The call handler rang back and Robert Bance answered calmly, telling the handler nothing was wrong.

After the case an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) was launched.

Investigators noted how British Telecom contacted Devon and Cornwall Police at 1.26am that morning reporting ‘an abandoned 999 call’.

They found the police call handler then rang the number, getting a man who answered that everything was ‘fine’.

A woman’s voice was heard in the background, shouting ‘information that has since been identified as her address’.

The IOPC investigators stated: ‘However, the police call handler did not register this incident on police systems or send police officers to the address.

‘Four minutes later, the man contacted Devon and Cornwall Police to report that he had killed his wife.

‘Our investigators interviewed the call handler involved, obtained information from police systems, examined relevant policies and procedures and obtained evidence regarding the expectations placed upon call handlers.

‘The [IOPC] lead investigator concluded that, in their opinion, there was sufficient evidence upon which a reasonable tribunal, properly directed, could find misconduct in respect of the call handler regarding the allegation that they did not create an incident log for the call or refer the matter to a supervisor.

‘The investigator was also of the opinion that the call handler’s performance may be considered unsatisfactory in respect of their failure to recognise and react to the sound of a distressed voice.’

In response to the IOPC’s report, Devon and Cornwall Police agreed that the call handler had ‘demonstrated an inability or failure to perform the duties of their role to a satisfactory standard or level’.

However, the police watchdog agreed with the force’s course of action which was to address the matter ‘through performance, including a six-month action plan and mentoring’.

Devon and Cornwall Police said it ‘also proposed to review their call handler training in the control room’.