POLICE failed to properly investigate the alleged rape of a Worcestershire man who was later killed, an investigation has found.

Adrian Palmer’s body was discovered by a postal worker in May 2006 after it had been dumped in an alley in Tenbury Wells.

The 21-year-old Asperger’s syndrome sufferer was strangled by Ben Murphy who was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to four years.

It later emerged that Mr Palmer had contacted police in January 2006 to make an allegation of rape against Murphy – but after investigating, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) took no further action.

During the investigation, Mr Palmer’s family reported to police that he was receiving threats on his mobile phone.

Mr Palmer’s grandmother wrote a letter to the Prime Minister criticising the way police and other agencies had handled the case and the matter was investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

The IPCC released their findings yesterday which revealed the rape allegation had not been recorded as a crime and the inquiry had been handled by a police constable rather than experienced CID officers.

The IPCC said no medical examination was carried out after the rape claim – resulting in the loss of potential evidence.

Mr Palmer’s mobile phone was not seized for forensic analysis regarding alleged threats.

The inquiry also found some records of the investigation sent to the CPS were incomplete or missing, potentially affecting the decision not to proceed with a prosecution.

The investigation did not say the failures of the police had contributed to Mr Palmer’s death.

His grandmother Margaret Palmer, of Bromyard Road, Tenbury Wells, said she has not received an apology from West Mercia Police. She said: “I wrote to the Prime Minister because I was disgusted by the way Adrian was treated. The outcome of the report is not going to make a difference for Adrian but hopefully things will change and no one will be treated like this in the future. We were hoping the report would bring about some closure but I just don’t know if it has.

“If all the recommendations from the investigation are carried out it will go a long way to helping these vulnerable people but it’s just a tragic shame it was Adrian’s death which brought the failings to light.”

Mr Palmer’s uncle, Steve Palmer, of Worcester, said: “Every time Adrian went to the police they treated him as an offender and not as a victim. As an offender he was always dealt with very sharply but as a victim he was just dismissed.”

The family are now in the process of setting up a charity called Ade 4 Asperger’s which will help adults with the condition find employment.

David Shaw, Deputy Chief Constable of West Mercia Police, said: “A great deal of work has already been done to improve the way that victims of sexual assault are dealt with by this force.”

RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE IPCC

Raise the awareness of the serious sexual offences policy, particularly for staff who may be the first officer dealing with a serious sexual offence.

Raise awareness and the profile of sexual offences liaison officers. Contact details should be available for frontline staff to use.

Conduct a review of live serious crimes to ensure appropriate resources are allocated to deal with them. The investigation noted issues about serious crimes being dealt with by frontline uniformed officers.

A review of policy and procedure regarding the recording of incidents in person at police stations. The investigation said that some incidents were reported in person at a police station, although no record of these reports could be found.

Review the working level agreements between partner agencies when dealing with vulnerable people. The report said there was limited contact between West Mercia Police and other agencies when Adrian Palmer alleged he had been raped.

Raise awareness of schemes currently in place for working with people with autism. There is an “Attention Card” available for people with autism to use with both emergency services and criminal justice workers.