A model had her throat savagely cut and was left to die in a suspected attack by her ‘stalker’.
Gracie Spinks, 23, was found lying in a pool of blood after suffering a stab wound to the neck.
She was tending to her horse Paddy at Blue Lodge Farm, five miles from her hometown of Chesterfield, when she was attacked.
Witnesses battled to save gravely injured Gracie but she died of her injuries at 8.30am on June 18.
A post-mortem found the knife wound to her neck was so severe it cut through her carotid artery, jugular vein and spine.
Spinks was reportedly being ‘stalked’ by Michael Sellers, 35, a former colleague at a warehouse where they had both worked, according to friends.
A ‘murder bag’ containing knives, an axe, Viagra and a note that read ‘Don’t lie!’, was reportedly found in a lane near the scene of the killing last month.
Derbyshire Police has confirmed it ‘had contact’ with Gracie earlier this year.
In a separate inquest opening into his death, Chesterfield Coroners’ Court heard police officers found Sellers’ vehicle parked near the farm.
His body was found in an area of the farm which was surrounded by trees by residents at around 11am.
A post-mortem concluded that Sellers had suffocated and died from ‘self-inflicted actions’.
The last person to see Gracie was her mum Alison Heaton the morning she set off that morning.
After her death her mother posted on Facebook: ‘My beautiful daughter Gracie, taken away from me, her dad and brother and sister, and everyone who loved and cared for her.’
The inquest also heard there was no evidence of any sexual assault and witnesses had seen a man running away from the scene.
Gracie was a qualified lifeguard but was working as a warehouse operative at the time of death.
Matthew Kewley, assistant coroner, said: ‘There will be a full and fearless investigation into Gracie’s death.’
A date has yet to be set but he called for a swift process.
Derbyshire Police will be investigated over the killing by the watchdog, a spokesperson for the force confirmed.
A statement read: ‘There has been a lot of speculation in the community in recent days as to what happened that day and we are working to find answers for everyone involved.
‘We can confirm that the force has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) because we had contact with Gracie earlier this year.
‘We are not able to release any further information about the case, but we can confirm there was no criminal restraining order in place.
‘We can also confirm that a member of the public found a bag containing weapons in Duckmanton in May and handed this in to police.’
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