Who was Joe Pooley?

Joe Pooley was a 22-year-old care-leaver who received support from Suffolk County Council (SCC) adult services as he had a learning disability.

Joe was described as lovable, impulsive, confident yet vulnerable, very trusting, and eager to make friends, but he had difficulty maintaining relationships.

As an adult, Joe struggled to sustain stable accommodation, being evicted, or moving repeatedly. His cannabis use led to drug debts and Joe was subjected to threats, assaults, and financial exploitation, but Joe was not willing to, or due to coercion was unable to, give information to the police to prosecute those responsible.

Although practitioners working with Joe worked hard to support him, there was a limited strategic approach to mitigate these emerging risks.

In August 2018, Joe was attacked and drowned by associates who had become angered by private messages Joe sent over social media after an intimate relationship turned sour.

In May 2021, two men and a woman were each sentenced to at least 17 years in prison for Joe’s murder. A coroner’s inquest took place in July 2022.