Senior detective's suicide after years of torment

DETAILS of a seven-year affair between a senior Sussex detective who hanged himself and the married woman officer in charge of Worthing Police were revealed at an inquest last week.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Mar 2009, 12:29 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 04:12 BST

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Torbet was found dead at his Peacehaven home on October 30, shortly before he was due to answer bail after being arrested with Chief Inspector Sharon Rowe, accused of stealing wine at Marks & Spencer at Holmbush. Both had been suspended.

Det Chief Insp Torbet(54) worked in the force's professional standards unit. Six years ago, his 19-year-old daughter Rae was stabbed to death by a former boyfriend at her flat in Bexhill. Truck driver Dellwyn James was jailed for 14 years for her murder.

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Chief Insp Rowe, married with two children, was Worthing's most senior officer. She remains suspended pending a police internal inquiry. The Crown Prosecution Service decided it was "not in the public interest" to take the shoplifting allegation to court.

Mr Torbet's brother, Fraser Torbet, a former Sussex police officer who now works for the British Transport Police, told the inquest: "Jim was always bitterly disappointed with the killer's sentence and never felt justice had been served.

"He never sought professional help to deal with his grief but seemed to be coping."

For full story see West Sussex Gazette March 25

Related topics:Sussex