Police review Katie Beattie death probe after family’s concerns

Police are reviewing the death of Katie Beattie after her family challenged the original conclusion that the 27-year-old’s death was not suspicious. Beattie was found dead in her flat in Lancaster on July 1, 2024, and Lancashire Police have now said the case has been reviewed and further enquiries are under way.

The shift came after her family successfully applied for the case to be reexamined under the Victims’ Right to Review scheme. Their campaign has centered on whether warning signs were missed, with relatives saying there are still unanswered questions about the forensic investigation, the post-mortem and other evidence linked to her final hours. Lancashire Police have asked anyone with information to call 101 and quote log 1092 of July 1, 2024.

The family has also pushed for what they call Katie Beth’s Law, a proposal that would require unexplained or potentially suspicious deaths to receive a full forensic examination within 24 hours and for bloods to be taken at the mortuary to improve toxicology results. An online petition on Change.org has gathered more than 5,000 signatures, reflecting the scale of concern the case has generated.

In August 2025, the family said Katie was found almost fully naked, wearing one sock and with bruises on her body. They said an inquest was unable to determine how she died, and Kellie Rhodes, Katie’s sister, said the family believed from the start that the investigation was not carried out properly. Rhodes has also said she believed her sister was sexually assaulted and injected with an illegal substance between two of her toes.

The family has pointed to a neighbour’s ring-doorbell footage that they say showed Katie entering her flat with a man a few days before she was found dead, with the same man seen leaving the property the day before her body was discovered. They also said it took nine-and-a-half hours for anyone to visit the home after they raised the alarm.

Lancaster MP Cat Smith has said the family had to keep fighting for answers, particularly around the police forensic investigation, the post-mortem and the circumstances surrounding Katie’s death. For the Beattie family, the review has brought a measure of relief, but their central demand has not changed: they want a full reinvestigation and a clearer accounting of how a death first treated as non-suspicious was handled.