Please note, the content of this post and the associated Review may be distressing. They refer to suicide, homicide and abuse. Please seek support through your usual workplace channels, through Vetlife, or through the support services listed on our Affected by Abuse page.
“That is the only thing that gives me hope, that justice will come for my daughter.” Noeleen Mullan, Katie’s mum.
Katie Simpson, a talented and popular showjumper, was 21 years old when she died in hospital in Northern Ireland. She was being driven to that hospital by the male partner of her sister when the ambulance service told him to stop and administer CPR, and the ambulance met them on the road on 3 August 2020.
He claimed that she had attempted suicide by hanging in the home where she lived with him, her sister, and their two young children. The police told him to drive his car straight to the hospital after the ambulance. He did not do this. He drove back to the house, showered, and changed his clothes. Within half an hour of the call being made to the police, he was seen at the house with another female, who put a large black bag in the boot of her car. This female would later be one of a group of women involved in legal proceedings into the murder of Katie Simpson.
At the hospital, staff noticed bruising to her legs and arms. He said that she fell off a horse the day before. A member of staff noticed blood in Katie’s underwear.
On 4 August 2020, police received intelligence stating, “Jonathan Creswell is currently working at stables along the Londonderry/Donegal border and resides with his girlfriend. Jonathan is believed to be a violent domestic offender and is living in a house with two young children and his partner’s younger sister. It is believed this girl is in domestic servitude and has been for a lengthy period. This female has been made to clean out stables and is not permitted to have a phone or friends and has tried to hang herself and is currently in Altnagelvin ICU.” This report was made by Paul Lusby, a friend of Katie’s, who died by suicide 2 years later.
On this same day, a journalist was contacted by a friend who had concerns about the circumstances. This journalist raised these concerns with the police, highlighting Cresswell’s previous conviction of September 2010 and 6 months in prison for assaulting his then-partner, rider Abigal Lyle.
Katie never regained consciousness and died on 9 August 2020.
Cresswell went on trial for the murder of Katie Simpson on 23 April 2024. On the morning of 24 April he was found deceased, reportedly “having taken his own life by hanging”.
The Review tells of how Katie started going to stables near her home at 8yo, but that “Katie was at risk from the moment she stepped through the yard gate”. It describes how, after his prison sentence for abuse against Abi Lyle, Creswell was able to return to his place of work and where members of the local equestrian community hosted a welcome home party for him, and how he used victim-blaming to speak about his conviction, and how there were no safeguarding measures in place.
It states, “After Katie Simpson was admitted to hospital in August 2020, Creswell employed the same tactics, manipulating the narrative, blaming Katie for her own death, erasing her experience of abuse and hiding his coercive/violent behaviour. The following section explores how he was able to exert control in this period, assessing, and evaluating service responses.”
“Following Katie’s death several witnesses came forward, describing Jonathan Creswell as volatile and abusive, as someone who was cruel to people and animals.” 37 other victims, including children as young as nine, have come forward to disclose abuse by Creswell, some involving allegations of sexual and physical abuse.
Our colleague David Martin has been raising awareness of the link between sexual abuse of animals and sexual abuse of children, including how animals may be used as part of a grooming process. The report also said it was apparent that Creswell “may have associated with known sex offenders”, “that there may be known individuals, currently operating with the equestrian world”, and two other alleged sex offenders have also been identified by the PSNI within the equestrian industry as part of this review.
The Katie Simpson Review gives many more details and recommendations regarding safeguarding in the equestrian world and the need for effective multi-agency working.
The Links Group has been working on raising awareness of the link between the abuse of animals and abuse of people for 25 years, and the need for inter-agency information sharing and collaboration. We have been actively working to promote safeguarding in the equestrian world alongside the British Horse Society in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and colleagues from The Pony Club in NI, and the Riding for the Disabled, Leonard Consultancy safeguarding specialists, as well as many other equine sporting and welfare associations across the UK and Ireland, the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit, the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland, Women’s Aid, the PSNI and Operation Gallop and more.
Our recent equine sector specific day, delivered in partnership with the BHS and supported and held at CAFRE Enniskillen campus on 9 March 2026, was a full house. That demand has already led to a second event, which will be held at Causeway Coast & Glens RDA on 30 September 2026. We know and we have heard you tell us that safeguarding concerns exist all across all forms of equine activities, all across the island of Ireland, and GB.
There is no doubt that Katie’s love for horses played a role in her abuse. Our work concerns Protecting Animals, Protecting People. We welcome the recommendations to promote safeguarding and multi-agency working in the equine world across NI, Ireland and GB. We look forward to continuing this work with current and future partners.
We hope that the findings of The Review and the progress to be made from it can be of some comfort to the family and friends of Katie, and that Noeleen’s wish for justice for her daughter is fulfilled.
