Investigation under way into police contact with woman who died in Plymouth

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the prior police contact with a 36-year-old woman who died in hospital in Plymouth.

Anastasia Theofilou became unwell in a cell at Charles Cross custody suite on Friday 3 July at around 4.30pm. CPR was administered by custody staff and a healthcare practitioner and she was taken to hospital, where she sadly died on Saturday 4 July.

Ms Theofilou had been arrested at an address in Weston Mill Road and taken into custody at around 2pm on 3 July.

Our investigation follows a mandatory referral from Devon and Cornwall Police.

Regional Director Catrin Evans said: “My thoughts are with Ms Theofilou’s family and friends following her death.

“Our investigators have begun gathering evidence and statements from officers. We will be looking at the level of care provided during the period of detention, including the thoroughness of searches and checks carried out while Ms Theofilou was in custody.”

The coroner has been informed and a post-mortem examination has been conducted, which did not identify a cause of death. We now await the toxicology report and further tests will be carried out.

When someone dies following police contact or in police custody, the force involved must refer the matter to us to assess whether we should investigate what has happened. Our role is to seek answers about what happened and to share any learning identified by our investigations.