An investigation by a major US newspaper has revealed a Grantham mum's "year-long cry for help," before she died following an assault by her boyfriend.

The New York Times has investigated the death of Daniela Espirito Santo, who died after being assaulted by Julio Jesus, who had been arrested, then released by police.

The newspaper said: "Her case is emblematic of Britain's failure to protect victims of domestic abuse."

Daniela, 23, of Chestnut Grove tragically died in April last year following an assault by Julio Jesus, who was later charged with manslaughter and two separate charges of assault.

In April this year, Jesus was sentenced to ten months for assault, with the paper reporting Jesus is now free.

The article, published today, recalls how Daniela suffered at the hands of Jesus, with police making seven trips beforehand to her home before she sadly died.

The article said when Daniela reported the final assault: "Her call stayed on hold for eight minutes, and when the dispatcher picked up, the only sounds were the cries of her 7-month-old. The police later found her slumped on her sofa, not breathing, her distraught baby cradled limply in one arm."

Researching her story, investigative journalist Jane Bradley obtained a confidential 106-page report compiled by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, an official watchdog, into the handling of the case by Lincolnshire Police.

In tweets promoting her story, Jane Bradley writes: "I obtained a confidential watchdog report into Lincolnshire Police's handling of Daniela's case, which reveals multiple failings.

"(It also helped explain why the police used heavy-handed tactics, like threat of a court order, to try and stop me speaking with her mum)"

She also tweeted: "The CPS dropped its manslaughter charge against Daniela's partner just before the trial was set to begin: citing new medical evidence that made it harder to prove the attack caused her heart failure afterwards.

"Her family was devastated."

The journalist continued: "The police refused to answer questions about the case, citing concerns about prejudicing a future inquest into Daniela's death. The CPS said it was determined to improve its handling of crimes against women."

She also said: "Britain's crisis of violence against women and girls has worsened during the pandemic — prosecution rates are shockingly low: fewer than 2% of rape cases and 8% of domestic abuse cases make it to court, even as complaints are rising."

MPs have already responded to the New York Times article, with one, Labour's Jess Philips, who is featured in it, tweeting today: "Same story over and over again."

Fellow Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill added: "Injustice! The system has to stop failing victims of domestic abuse."

Earlier today, the Lincolnite website reported the newspaper investigation, adding the Independent Office for Police Conduct had today told the website it has cleared Lincolnshire Police of any breaches, despite multiple failings highlighted in an internal report.

The Lincoln-based website also detailed further background from the IOPC's report.

It also reported Lincolnshire Police saying it could not yet comment on the report as it has not yet been released officially, since this could potentially prejudice the ongoing inquest into the death of Ms Santos.