The family of a hotel receptionist “brutally” killed by a man suffering from paranoid schizophrenia have said they “desperately need answers” as to how the attack happened as an inquest began into her death.
Spanish national Marta Elena Vento, 27, was working at the Travelodge in Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, when she was killed by Stephen Cole with a set of hair clippers on December 9 2020.
Mr Cole, then 32, who had been released from prison in October that year, pleaded guilty to manslaughter through diminished responsibility and has been detained indefinitely in hospital under the Mental Health Act.
Sentencing him at Winchester Crown Court in June 2021, Judge Angela Morris highlighted “irreversible failures” by those who did not spot his deteriorating psychiatric state in the weeks beforehand.
She was strong, tenacious, hard-working and active. Without her we are no longer the same people
At the inquest on Monday, a report from pathologist Basil Purdue said that Ms Elena Vento’s cause of death was multiple blunt force head injuries, with 55 injuries recorded in a post-mortem examination.
It added that appearances suggested Ms Elena Vento “put up a most spirited defence against her assailant”.
A statement from her father, Luis Elena Blas, read out at Dorset Coroner’s Court described Ms Elena Vento as devoted to her friends and with a love of travel, animals and music.
He said Ms Elena Vento was living in Bournemouth where she had adopted a kitten and, after a few months of unemployment during the pandemic, took a job at the Travelodge, which was just across the street from her home.
“Marta only worked two nights and did not survive the second night as a killer took her away from us and destroyed our lives,” her father said.
The inquest heard that Cole was a resident at the Travelodge at the time and CCTV from the early hours of the morning recorded Cole kicking and punching Ms Elena Vento after she had been sorting leaflets in a display near the door.
Detective Inspector Mark Jenkins of Dorset Police told the coroner that Cole left the reception area at 5.58am and went to Bournemouth police station later that morning where he told the receptionist he had just killed someone.
Cole took a bag of items including Ms Elena Vento’s lanyard and a panic button that had not been activated during the attack, he added.
The inquest heard that Cole had been prescribed the antipsychotic drug Olanzapine in September 2020 while he was in prison, and was released from custody with a four-week supply on October 27.
Senior coroner Rachael Griffin said: “There’s no evidence to suggest he wasn’t compliant over that four-week period, all of the evidence points to the fact he ran out of medication, he then did not receive any prescription after that date.”
The coroner added that Cole had contact with paramedics and out-of-hours GPs in early December, and the inquest is likely to hear evidence that there were attempts by Cole and his family to get a further prescription.
Forensic scientist Mark Tyler told the hearing that a blood sample from Cole on December 9 detected Olanzapine but the level in his blood was below the level of someone taking it regularly for therapeutic use.
Before the inquest, a statement from Ms Elena Vento’s family read by their lawyer, Benjamin Burrows, from Leigh Day, said: “Four years have passed since Marta was brutally taken from us.
“Now we desperately need answers about how such a brutal assault can have happened and whether it could have been prevented.”
The statement added: “She was the source of joyfulness to our family. She was an inspiration, our pride and hope, a true friend who loved to share her life and her happiness.
“She was strong, tenacious, hard-working and active. Without her we are no longer the same people.”
The inquest, which is expected to last for six weeks, continues.
