Karren Bassett says she discovered on Sept. 27, 2025, via a Facebook-shared article that her mother, Ann (Anne Marie) Green, had been found dead in Bromyard. West Mercia Police confirmed the death and have charged Green’s partner, 54-year-old Julian Thomas, with murder; he is due at Worcester Crown Court on Feb. 27. The IOPC is independently investigating West Mercia Police’s prior contact with Green and whether safeguarding and family-notification procedures were appropriate. Bassett called the way she learned the news "heartbreaking" and says the force's apology is "not good enough."
“I Shouldn’t Have Found Out That Way”: Daughter Says Facebook Post Alerted Her To Mother’s Killing
Ann GreenWest Mercia Police
Karren Bassett says she first learned that her mother, Ann (Anne Marie) Green, had been killed when a friend sent her an article that had been shared on Facebook — a moment she describes as "heartbreaking" and deeply upsetting to the family.
Bassett, who lives in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Feb. 6 that she received the social media message on Sept. 27, 2025. The article included an address and ages that matched those of her mother, who West Mercia Police later confirmed had been found dead at an address on Apple Tree Close in Bromyard, Herefordshire, on Sept. 27, 2025.
West Mercia Police have charged 54-year-old Julian Thomas — identified as Green’s partner — with murder. Thomas is due to appear at Worcester Crown Court on Feb. 27.
"It was awful and I then had to pass the news on to other family members myself," Bassett told the BBC. "I felt angry, I felt emotional, I felt like I had been let down. I shouldn’t have found out that way."
Bassett said people were commenting "RIP Ann" beneath the shared post and that she rang her local police in South Wales after recognising the details. She said West Mercia Police told her an officer would attend within about 40 minutes, which led her to realise the report referred to her mother.
U.K. police car (stock image)Getty
A West Mercia Police spokesperson told PEOPLE the force extends its condolences to Ms Green’s family and is cooperating with an independent inquiry. "It would be inappropriate to comment while that investigation is on-going, but we will as soon as we are able to," the statement said.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) confirmed it is investigating West Mercia Police contact with Anne Marie Green and her partner prior to Green’s death. The IOPC review covers incidents recorded by the force between February 2024 and September 2025 in which Julian Thomas was logged as the suspect and Ms Green as the victim. The inquiry will examine whether risk assessments and safeguarding measures were appropriate and whether the force’s steps to notify the family were timely and adequate.
Bassett said she had received an apology from West Mercia Police but that it "would never be good enough." She added, "No-one should ever have to find out their loved ones have been taken through social media."
In a tribute released on Oct. 2, Green’s family described her as "a wonderful mum, stepmum, wife, sister, aunt, grandmother and great grandmother" who "always took in everybody as one of her own." The family said losing her has "left a great hole in our lives that can never be filled" and that they will concentrate on grieving and seeking justice.
PEOPLE has reached out to Karren Bassett for further comment.
Help us improve.
