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Each self-inflicted death where the deceased had endured domestic violence must be considered a potential murder case, according to demands from advocates who seek to make perpetrators responsible for the catastrophic impact of their behavior.

This step is essential because law enforcement are failing to hold offenders to justice in instances of self-inflicted death following domestic abuse.

“Time and again, there is widespread breakdown, particularly within the criminal justice system, to examine these fatalities with the seriousness they warrant,” stated a co-director of a campaign group at a significant gathering in Westminster recently.

The meeting, organized by a organization leading a “Suicide is Homicide” initiative to fight for change in the legal framework, united families who had suffered bereavement to suicide after family violence.

Individual Accounts of Loss

Sharon Holland experienced the death of her child Chloe Holland in spring 2023. Prior to her passing, Chloe had reported her former partner to police, providing a lengthy recorded statement as evidence against him.

Following her passing, the perpetrator was found guilty of manipulative and domineering conduct and jailed for 41 months. He was subsequently jailed for three years and seven months after a another victim stepped up to disclose that she had been in a violent and abusive relationship with him.

After Chloe’s death, the mother chose to advocate for a new law to bring perpetrators to justice; however she then realized that regulations were already in place, they just weren’t often being used to achieve convictions.

“I concluded it was not a new law I required as existing laws were already there, and after finding out how much my daughter had been let down previous to her taking her life by the police and many other agencies, they had to fulfill their duties, and things required reform,” she explained.

“More than four dozen relatives have contacted me and only four of us have had a guilty verdict,” she added. “I was so shocked to see such a large number who have been battling the police and prosecution service for years and getting no justice for their offspring or sibling and could not speak out in case it affected inquiries that weren’t possibly going anywhere.”

Another Tragic Case

Saskia Lightburn Richie’s child Hannah passed away in spring 2017, in what she described as “the ultimate abusive action” in a campaign of abuse.

“She was vibrant, she was caring,” she stated. “She was full of promise, and she was an amazing, really loving mother to her kids, and she took her own life after 24 months in a partnership where she was systematically destroyed by her partner,” she explained.

“She endured physical assaults, she was mentally tormented, she was dominated and dismantled gradually until she could not see a path ahead. The man who did this to her went unpunished, because we label it suicide, we conclude the case and we proceed.

“But I could not move on,” she remarked, “and I haven’t been able to let go. In truth, she did not merely take her own life. She was murdered. Her death was gradual and deliberately over a 24-month span, and when I went to the police, when I pleaded with them to look into what he had inflicted upon her, I was informed that there was no action that they were able to take.

“No inquiry was conducted into her death. The domestic violence fatality analysis, which I had to fight for, took five years and had no impact. A four day inquest found self-inflicted death, despite substantial proof over a very traumatic multi-day session of family violence and failings by various agencies.”

The parent informed the gathering that for eight years she has “struggled against a establishment that ignores what is obvious”.

She said the suicide is homicide movement was critical “since when an individual takes their own life after they’ve suffered domestic abuse, we have to examine it for what it truly represents, which is homicide.

“We need to use the legislation we currently have effectively and it really isn’t happening at the present, and we need to hold abusers accountable for driving their victims to death.

“We have the laws. We require determination, we need law enforcement to conduct thorough inquiries. We need the Crown Prosecution Service to take legal action. We need the judiciary to recognize that words and control can cause death just as much as hands and weapons.”

Government Reaction

At a second meeting in the Parliament, led by a opposition politician, and including the government official, the grieving families again shared their experiences.

A parliamentary under-secretary told the meeting: “Such fatalities are often dismissed as if they were their own choice, they opted for this, when, reality, these were the culmination of actually, another person’s abuse, and these are not rare incidents.”

“Our law is broken, we know that,” she said. “Particularly around murder or manslaughter, it is fragmented. It lacks statutory basis regardless, it has been shaped with common law practices for generations, and it is no longer fit for purpose, honestly, given the society we currently live in.

“I will not claim that it’s going to be simple to resolve. It is incredibly complex and challenging, particularly when you look at the issue of homicide, but we recognize that it needs to be looked at.”

Legal Authority Comment

A representative for the prosecution service commented: “Family violence is a heinous offense and our prosecutors are actively advised to evaluate murder and manslaughter charges in self-inflicted death instances where there is a established background of domestic abuse or other controlling or coercive behavior.

“We have previously charged a number of defendants for leading to the fatality of a partner they mistreated, encompassing in proceedings which are ongoing.

“We are collaborating with law enforcement and other parties to ensure these types of crimes are clearly recognized – so that we can hold offenders accountable for the full extent of their wrongdoings.”