The Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman has found that a PSNI investigation into an indecent exposure allegation against Jonathan Creswell was 'inadequate', years before he was accused of murdering showjumper Katie Simpson. The findings suggest that opportunities to properly investigate his behaviour were missed, adding to concerns already raised by police, who previously apologised for 'unacceptable failings' in the investigation into Simpson's death. Creswell, the partner of Simpson's sister, was arrested on suspicion of murder a year after her death in 2016, but his trial collapsed in April 2024 when he took his own life after the first day of proceedings.

The complaint concerned a January 2016 report that Creswell had exposed himself to a woman at a Co Antrim horse yard months earlier. The Ombudsman found officers failed to take statements from three potential witnesses, including a possible eyewitness, and never listened to an allegedly threatening voice message he had sent the victim. A file later sent to the Public Prosecution Service wrongly stated he was known to police only for motoring offences, omitting a previous jail term for violent offending against a woman, and incorrectly claimed there was no outstanding evidence or witnesses; the PPS consequently ruled there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. The Ombudsman's director of investigations, Nikki Davis, said police had "failed the complainant, both as a woman and as a victim" and that the prior conviction was "entirely relevant" and should have been disclosed.