Self-inflicted deaths Linked to Family Violence Should Be Investigated as Potential Homicides, Demand British Relatives

Each self-inflicted death in which the victim had experienced domestic violence must be treated as a possible murder case, according to calls from advocates who aim to hold abusers accountable for the catastrophic consequences of their actions.

This move is necessary because police and prosecutors are not doing enough to bring perpetrators to justice in instances of suicide following family violence.

“Time and again, there is widespread breakdown, especially within the criminal justice system, to scrutinise these deaths with the gravity they warrant,” stated a leader of a campaign group during a significant gathering in Westminster earlier this week.

The meeting, organized by a organization running a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” initiative to advocate for change in the criminal justice system, brought together families who had suffered bereavement to suicide after domestic abuse.

Individual Accounts of Loss

Sharon Holland lost her daughter Chloe Holland in March 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 individual was convicted of coercive and controlling behavior and imprisoned for over three years. He was later sentenced for three years and seven months after a another victim came forward to disclose that she had been in a violent and abusive relationship with him.

After Chloe’s death, the parent chose to advocate for a new law to hold offenders to justice; yet she then realized that laws were existing, they just weren’t often being used to secure prosecutions.

“I decided it was not a fresh legislation I required as existing laws were already there, and after learning how much my daughter had been failed previous to her taking her life by the police and many other agencies, they needed to fulfill their duties, and practices required reform,” she explained.

“Over 47 families have found me and only four of us have had a conviction,” she continued. “I was astonished to see such a large number who have been battling the authorities and prosecution service for years and receiving no resolution for their child or brother or sister and didn’t have a voice in case it affected investigations that weren’t possibly going anywhere.”

Another Tragic Case

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

“She was energetic, she was loving,” she said. “She was full of promise, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mum to her kids, and she died by suicide after two years in a partnership where she was systematically destroyed by her companion,” she explained.

“She endured physical assaults, she was mentally tormented, she was controlled and dismantled piece by piece until she could not see a way forward. The individual who caused this went unpunished, because we call it suicide, we conclude the case and we move on.

“But I could not move on,” she said, “and I haven’t been able to let go. In truth, she did not merely take her own life. She was killed. She was killed slowly and deliberately over a 24-month span, and when I approached the authorities, when I begged them to look into what he had inflicted upon her, I was informed that there was nothing that they could do.

“No inquiry was conducted into her passing. The domestic violence fatality analysis, which I had to fight for, required five years and changed nothing. A lengthy coroner’s hearing found self-inflicted death, despite substantial proof over a extremely distressing four day period of family violence and failings by multiple services.”

The mother told the meeting that for a decade she has “struggled against a system that refuses to see what is obvious”.

She emphasized the suicide is homicide campaign was vital “since when someone dies by suicide after they’ve suffered domestic abuse, we have to examine it for what it truly represents, which is homicide.

“We need to apply the laws we already possess properly and it is not occurring at the present, and we need to hold abusers accountable for pushing their targets to suicide.

“We have the laws. We need the will, we need police to conduct thorough inquiries. We need the prosecution authority to take legal action. We need judges to recognize that words and control can kill equally to hands and weapons.”

Government Reaction

At a follow-up gathering in the Parliament, chaired by a Labour MP, and attended by the government official, the grieving families again told their stories.

A parliamentary under-secretary told the meeting: “These deaths are often written off as if they were their own choice, they chose to do this, when, in truth, these were the culmination of in fact, somebody else’s violence, and these are not rare incidents.”

“Our law is broken, we are aware,” she stated. “Especially around homicide or unlawful killing, it is piecemeal. It’s not written in statute anyway, it has been shaped with common law practices for centuries, and it is no longer fit for purpose, quite frankly, it’s the world we currently live in.

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

Legal Authority Comment

A spokesperson for the prosecution service commented: “Domestic abuse is a heinous crime and our legal officers are actively advised to evaluate homicide allegations in self-inflicted death instances where there is a established background of domestic abuse or other manipulative conduct.

“We have in the past prosecuted a several individuals for leading to the fatality of a companion they abused, including in proceedings which are ongoing.

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