Grieving Antrim Mum is being supported by Katie Simpson Trust

THE mother of an Antrim woman who died in unexplained circumstances last year is receiving help from a Trust set up in memory of murdered showjumper Katie Simpson.

Caitlin Robb (pictured) passed away in the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald at the end of April 2024, several days after being found unresponsive by police at her flat on the Dublin Road estate, after her mother Siobhan asked for a welfare check. The death has been treated as suicide.

Since then, Mrs Robb has voiced concerns over the way her 21-year-old daughter’s death has been investigated and believes there are a number of discrepancies between what she has been told by various parties about Caitlin’s final hours.

She has also claimed that medical records she has received about her daughter do not tally with what she has been told about the night that Caitlin died, and the injuries she was said to have sustained.

While Mrs Robb said that she was never offered the opportunity for a Post Mortem examination of her daughter’s body, the Northern Ireland Coroner has since directed a public inquest.

The last hearing in May revealed that text messages on Caitlin’s phone were due to be examined to explore her state of mind on the night she was found. The case was adjourned until September, but no new hearing date has been announced.

A complaint has also been made to the Police Ombudsman and Mrs Robb has had meetings with Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, after he was notified about concerns by South Antrim DUP MLA Trevor Clarke at a meeting of the Policing Board.

Back in November, the Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed it is reviewing three cases recorded as suicide, following the case of Katie Simpson. Jonathan Creswell was later charged with her murder, but he was found dead at home aged 36 while standing trial last year.

A Police Ombudsman report into the death of the showjumper found that the police investigation was flawed and failed her family. The report said there had been ‘a general lack of investigative mindset’, which led to her death in 2020 being treated as suicide for several months.

The Katie Trust was set up earlier this year as an independent charitable organisation established to support families and friends who have lost a loved one in circumstances initially classified as suicide, accident, or disappearance but where concerns and unanswered questions later emerge.

The Trust was founded by retired Detective Sergeant James Brannigan, a former senior investigator with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

Mr Brannigan is internationally recognised for his pioneering work and his experience and determination were instrumental in uncovering the truth behind the murder of Katie Simpson, recently highlighted on a Sky documentary, ‘Death of a Showjumper’.

Just this week, Mr Brannigan raised concerns over the unexplained death of a another young woman.

He has called on the pathologist who reviewed Ms Simpson’s post-mortem to look at the case of Kelly Lynch, a 23-year-old who was found dead under a bridge in Monaghan on March 17 last year.

Mrs Robb said she is grateful for the support of the Trust and hopes to hold a fundraising evening for the Trust in the coming months.

“They do a brilliant job and they have been so supportive,” she said.

“I am not going to let Caitlin’s case drop, she was let down in life and let down in death and I am going to continue until I get some answers.

“I hope to get a fundraising night organised, hopefully in November, so I can give back to the Katie Trust, as they have helped me so much.”

As her daughter’s 23rd birthday approaches this week, Siobhan also revealed that Caitlin is being honoured with the posthumous Order of St John pin at a ceremony in Belfast Castle next month, after three lives were saved with her daughter’s donated organs.

Siobhan, Caitlin’s sister Orlaith and pals Danielle ‘who was like a sister to her’ and Erinn will attend the event. along with Tracey, a counsellor with the Katie Trust.

Caitlin’s kidneys and liver were donated to three separate people on the waiting list for a donation aged from their teens to their 60s.