A nurse was murdered and mutilated by her ex-boyfriend after police failed to warn her that he had a history of attacks on women, a damning official report has found.

Katie Cullen, 34, a highly respected hospital sister, was ‘badly let down’ by police who failed to protect her from Iman Ghaefelipour, 28.

The Iranian, who had successfully claimed asylum in the UK, threatened to kill two previous girlfriends and burn down one of their houses.

Scandal: Katie Cullen, 34, was stabbed 130 times in the head by Iranian-born asylum-seeker Iman Saeed Ghaefelipour, 28, but was never warned he had threatened to kill a previous ex-girlfriend

When Miss Cullen reported him to police for harassment and death threats, they investigated – but did not pass on the information.

This was because she said he had spoken ‘in the heat of the moment’ and had never been violent, and there were no ‘warning markers’ for violence on his record, they claimed.

Miss Cullen later agreed to meet him at her home, where he stabbed her more than 130 times in the face and neck, cut out her right eyeball and tried to sever her right hand. He was jailed for at least 23 years in 2010 after pleading guilty to the murder in October 2009.

Yesterday a deeply critical report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) found that had she been told of his past, Miss Cullen might be alive today.

It said claims he set fires on an earlier partner’s property were not handled properly.

Rachel Cerfontyne, IPCC deputy chairman, said police put her in danger by giving her ‘false reassurance’.

She went on: ‘In my view, Katie was badly let down by Greater Manchester Police. Our investigation exposed a catalogue of inaction and missed opportunities.

‘Had arson offences against [his ex] been adequately investigated, it is possible Mr Ghaefelipour would have been convicted and not at liberty . . . [Miss Cullen] was passed from pillar to post.’

Her mother Diane, also a nurse, said: ‘We are distraught at what happened to Katie and utterly appalled at the lack of care she received at the hands of GMP.

‘It is inconceivable to us that the two police officers concerned should protect her assailant . . . rather than a vulnerable girl who lived on her own and who turned to them for help. By withholding such information from Katie they denied her the opportunity to protect herself.

‘She returned to her own home alone and vulnerable, ignorant of the dangerous situation she was in.’

She added: ‘Since Katie’s murder we have been plunged into unimaginable torture.

‘There isn’t a day goes by I don’t think about her.’

TIMELINE: HOW KATIE CULLEN WAS REPEATEDLY FAILED BY POLICE 2002: Killer Iman Ghaefelipour arrives in UK and claims asylum. 2007: Has relationship with woman but in August of that year after she broke it off, her car and front door was set alight. She called police but they failed to check out his alibi or CCTV so is freed without charged. If he had been convicted he would have been deported. 2008: Katie Cullen meets her killer at a Salsa class in March and embarks on relationship with him. Six months later she broke it off because he took £3,000 from her bank account without permission. May 2009: She started a new relationship but bumped into Ghaefelipour in a restaurant, where he threatened to kill her and her boyfriend and then made menacing phone calls. Miss Cullen went to police twice, she was subjected to 26 different procedural delays, before she was seen by two police officers.Their system showed no warning markers against his name - but a search after her death found them. October 2009: Ghaefelipour arrives at her house and says he has the £3,000 he owed her. He then tortured and murdered her. Advertisement

Ghaefelipour, of Urmston, Greater Manchester, claimed asylum in the UK in 2002 and was granted indefinite leave to remain. Miss Cullen, a senior sister in cardiology at the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, started dating him in 2008 after they met at salsa-dancing classes.

The six-month affair ended when she discovered that her jobless boyfriend had stolen more than £3,000 from her account. She went to police but did not press charges after he vowed to pay it back.

In June 2009 Miss Cullen began another relationship. When Ghaefelipour learned this, he attacked her in a jealous rage. She reported it to police, but officers did not tell her about his past.

In October that year, he went to her home in Stockport, Cheshire, on the pretext of discussing his debt. There, he fell into a violent rage and murdered her.

Bereft: Patrick Cullen, brother of murdered nurse Katie Cullen reads a statement outside Manchester Crown Court, with his mother Diane, left, sister Alison and father Peter, after the damning report

The IPCC found that two constables and a sergeant had failed the nurse by poor and unsatisfactory performance.

Greater Manchester Police is one of four forces identified by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary as giving cause for serious concern over its response to domestic abuse.

Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Rumney, of GMP, said it accepted that it did not investigate the arson claims with enough ‘rigour’ and that officers in touch with Miss Cullen lacked ‘experience’.

He added: ‘Had more been done to better understand the risk Ghaefelipour posed, GMP may have been able to assist Katherine to make more informed life choices.’

Polly Neate, of the charity Women’s Aid, said that many abusers continue their pattern of behaviour despite being reported to police.

She added: ‘Repeatedly we see cases where women are killed because of poor police responses. We urge every police force to ensure that each officer has regular, specialist-led domestic violence training.’

Last year, a scheme was introduced in parts of England and Wales to allow people to check whether their partner had a violent past. Clare’s Law was brought in after Clare Wood was killed by her ex boyfriend George Appleton.