AN inquest into the murder of a domestic abuse victim who was brutally killed by her ex-partner began on Tuesday morning at Warrington Coroners Court.

Angela Craddock died at Warrington Hospital on April 10, 2018, after facing months of torture and violence at the hands of her killer, William Smart.

The 39-year-old was tragically found by officers at 10.40pm that evening deceased on the floor of her lounge at her home on St Elphins Close having suffered more than 100 different injuries.

William Smart was jailed for five months at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on February 2018 in the months leading up to her death, after being found guilty of battery against Ms Craddock. He was issued with a restraining order and told not to contact her or enter her road for an entire year.

After being released from prison on April 3, Smart carried out suspicious behaviour, including withdrawing large amounts of cash from his bank accounts and ordering a bouquet of flowers to be delivered to Ms Craddock’s home with a question mark note attached.

Earlier on the day of April 10, Smart was seen around the town centre ‘drunk and staggering’ and was seen in several establishments around the area including in a takeaway where he told staff he had ‘had an argument with his misses’.

At around 10pm Smart entered a bargain booze on Marsh House Lane with blood on his face. It is believed Ms Craddock was murdered between 6.34pm and 9.40pm.

Smart was arrested and was taken to custody in Runcorn where he was heard shouting ‘“I f***ng killed her – I don’t give a f***, I hope she’s dead’ - among other things. After facing trial Smart was sentenced to 19 years in prison for his horrific crimes.

Senior Coroner of Cheshire, Jacqueline Devonish will conduct the inquest over the following two weeks with a jury present to come to a conclusion of how, where and when Ms Craddock came to her death.

A total of 29 witnesses will be heard over the course of the inquest with three witnesses having provided statements on Tuesday morning.

Barristers Chris Richards, counsel for the probation service, Brett Williamson, counsel for The Constabulary and Rosalind Smith, counsel for CLC are all present at the inquest.

Ms Craddock’s mother, Patricia Johnson and her half brother Jason Craddock are also in attendance and were the first witnesses to be called to the stand.

Ms Johnson was asked to describe her daughter to the Jury, to which she replied: “She was very kind, very caring and sympathetic to people’s needs and feelings.”

She added when asked what she knew of the relationship between her daughter and Smart that she was not aware they knew each other well, and she had only come into contact him on three occasions.

“The first time I met this gentleman he was in the street, he seemed like a rude drunk man.”

The second time was at a jumble sale she attended where she said she observed Angela speaking with Smart and the following day had warned her of his strange behaviour and not to go near him.

David Craddock, half-brother to Angela, was the next to step up to the stand, describing her character he said: “She was very artistic, passionate and empathetic towards others. Maybe that did leave her vulnerable to the likes of William.”

Mr Craddock said he did not regularly see his half-sister, but they spoke regularly over text, adding that he was ‘not very happy with the amount she drank’.

Speaking to the coroner he reiterated what was said in his impact statement, saying: “She spent her entire life trying to get help.

“The one time she tried to stick up for herself and went to the police, she was let down. I do think that the system let her down.”

Coroner Jacqueline Devonish read out a witness statement from Angela’s GP Dr Sangeetha from June 6, 2018.

A general practitioner at Causeway Medical Practice in Latchford, the GP said Angela had a ‘extensive history of depression and anxiety dating back to school’.

“There have been references to fleeting self-harm. She has been on anti-depressants for most of her adult life. Angela has also been under alcohol services in the past.”

The GP said over the years she has had a range of ‘unexplained injuries’ which were put down to alcohol abuse and at the time she could not recall how she had come to get them.

In a list of her medical history that was read to the court, dating back to November 1999 where she had a drug overdose, one incident in February 2012 involved Angela receiving a stab wound to her buttock, among other trips to A+E for a broken wrist and bruising on other parts of her body, unexplained.

On November 3, 2017, Ms Craddock had called 111 out of hours and told the operator that ‘she had been hit in the face and ribs’ and said that she had reported to the police that she had been ‘attacked’.

The GP recalled her last trip to the surgery being on March 12, 2018, when Angela requested a sick note, but it was not reported the reason for this.

Stanley Parker, a taxi driver who delivered the bouquet of flowers to Ms Craddock from her killer on April 6 provided a witness statement that was read out to the court.

In his statement he described a normal exchange with Ms Craddock with him knocking on the door of her apartment and delivering the flowers and her accepting them and thanking him.

He added: “I did not see anyone else in the background and did not hear anyone else.”