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Inquest jury finds a catalogue of police failures contributed to the death of Yolanda Saldana Feliz

Yolanda Saldana Feliz, originally from the Dominican Republic, was a nurse and loving mother whose family describe as a superhero. She loved dancing, cooking, and had a great sense of humour. Yolanda moved to the UK in 2021 and lived in Stratford with her daughter. On 23 October 2022, Yolanda was unlawfully killed by her daughter’s ex-partner, Miguel Angel Florentino, who broke into their home in Stratford, London, and violently attacked them both.

Following an inquest heard between 20–30 April 2026 before HM Senior Coroner for East London, Graeme Irvine, a jury has concluded that multiple failures by the Metropolitan Police contributed to the death of Yolanda Saldana Feliz, who was unlawfully killed by her daughter’s ex-partner.   

On 18 June 2022, Yolanda’s daughter had reported severe and continuing domestic abuse to the Metropolitan Police being perpetrated by Mr Florentino. She told officers that he had been subjecting her to constant and escalating stalking, harassment, coercive control over her work and dress and violent and sexualised verbal abuse. Importantly, Yolanda’s daughter also told police that Mr Florentino had made an explicit threat to kill Yolanda because they were not together. The case was assigned to the Met’s Community Safety Unit (CSU) based in Leyton. 

An Article 2 inquest conducted between and 20 and 30 April 2026 heard a series of admissions made by the Metropolitan Police Service which included:

  • On 29 March 2022, Mr Florentino had been arrested by the Metropolitan Police using a taser and handcuffs, after he was alleged to have threatened his flatmates with a machete. A police MERLIN record, which keeps information about people who have become known to them, recorded concerns about Mr Florentino’s declining mental health, drug use, use of a weapon and risk of harm to others. This record was never considered as part of the domestic abuse investigation;
  • After 18 June 2022 there was no investigation into or assessment of the likelihood and severity of the threat to kill Yolanda;
  • The case was allocated to a Trainee Detective Constable as Investigating Officer before she even joined the CSU. The officer had not received an induction for the CSU or training in domestic abuse.
  • The case, which should have been supervised weekly by a Detective Sergeant, was supervised, at best, monthly.
  • The Domestic Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and Honour Based Violence Risk Assessment model, which was designed to assist officers to identify, assess and manage specific areas of risk, was not properly used in Yolanda’s case and was not being used effectively in any cases being investigated by the CSU at the time of this investigation;
  • No inquiries were made to locate and arrest Mr Florentino for seven weeks after the report was made about his domestic abuse;
  • When Mr Florentino was eventually arrested and brought to Wood Green custody suite, the arresting officers were not able to justify his detention, and he was released without ever being interviewed;
  • A referral to a Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (“MARAC”) was never made during the investigation, including after Yolanda’s daughter reported an escalating pattern of behaviour on the part of Mr Florentino after 15 July 2022; and
  • In September and October 2022 Yolanda’s daughter sent a series of increasingly desperate emails to the Investigating Officer, detailing that Mr Florentino had moved to live nearby, was escalating his stalking harassment and that she had to hide in Underground stations to evade him. These emails were not replied to and were never investigated. 

A Domestic Homicide Review was completed in September 2024. The report expressed various concerns about the police investigation. Its author, former Detective Inspector Simon Steel, told the inquest that it was a “reasonable assumption” that the police’s failure to detain or properly investigate Mr Florentino would have contributed to a sense of impunity. He also confirmed that Mr Florentino’s stalking behaviour was a “major red flag” in terms of the risks he posed. 

A report by the Metropolitan Police Department of Professional Standards concluded: “The intended victim of the threat to kill ultimately was killed after the police had received some indication that there was a threat to her life without any further consideration to properly identify, assess and manage the risk.”

Detective Superintendent Andrew Wadey, the lead responsible officer for Domestic Abuse in the Metropolitan Police Service, accepted that the initial complaint by Yolanda’s daughter in June 2022 contained “multiple, classic indicators of domestic homicide”.

In a damning critical narrative conclusion, the inquest jury concluded that multiple failures to investigate and deal with the risk posed by Mr Florentino and to implement any safeguarding measures for Yolanda or her daughter contributed to Yolanda’s death. 

The Senior Coroner also announced that he would write a Prevention of Future Deaths report, addressing his ongoing concern about the ability of the MPS to assess risk and delays in apprehending suspects. 

Yolanda’s family said:

Yolanda was kind, sweet, calm and incredibly generous, not just to her kids but to everyone she met. She loved living in the UK. But we were totally failed by the Metropolitan Police when we were desperate for help. We have never had an apology from the police and we were shocked that officers who failed to help us or our mother had not even read the Domestic Homicide Review. 

The family’s solicitor, Robert Hamill of Gold Jennings, said:

Yolanda died at the hands of a domestic abuser who bears the responsibility for this appalling crime. But her tragic death has also exposed a series of shocking inadequacies in the investigation of domestic abuse and the safeguarding of vulnerable victims. Through the inquest the family have learned that yawning gaps remain in the Met’s ability to investigate and respond to domestic abuse, and they are concerned that other victims like Yolanda are at risk. It is essential that the Commissioner addresses these issues as soon as possible. 

Yolanda’s family are represented by Tom Stoate of Doughty Street Chambers Inquests and Public Inquiries Team, and Robert Hamill and Jessica Harrison of Gold Jennings, and supported by Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse (AAFDA).