🔗 Share this article

Each self-inflicted death in which the deceased had endured domestic violence should be considered a potential murder case, according to demands from advocates who aim to make perpetrators responsible for the devastating impact of their actions.

This step is essential because law enforcement are not doing enough to hold offenders to justice in instances of self-inflicted death after domestic abuse.

“Time and again, there is systemic and structural failure, particularly within the legal system, to scrutinise these fatalities with the seriousness they deserve,” remarked a co-director of a advocacy organization at a landmark gathering in London earlier this week.

The assembly, arranged by a organization running a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” initiative to advocate for reform in the criminal justice system, brought together relatives who had suffered bereavement to suicide following family violence.

Personal Stories of Tragedy

Sharon Holland experienced the death of her child Chloe Holland in March 2023. Prior to her passing, Chloe had reported her former partner to authorities, submitting a lengthy recorded statement as proof against him.

Following her passing, the individual was convicted of coercive and controlling behavior and jailed for 41 months. He was later jailed for three years and seven months after a second woman stepped up to report that she had been in a violent and abusive relationship with him.

After Chloe’s death, the parent chose to advocate for a legal change to hold offenders accountable; however she then realized that laws were already in place, they just were rarely applied to secure prosecutions.

“I decided it wasn’t a new law I required as current statutes were already there, and after finding out how much my child had been let down before her death by the authorities and numerous services, they had to fulfill their duties, and practices needed to change,” she explained.

“Over 47 families have contacted me and only four of us have had a conviction,” she continued. “I was astonished to see such a large number who have been fighting the authorities and prosecution service for a long time and getting no justice for their offspring or sibling and could not speak out in case it affected investigations that weren’t possibly going anywhere.”

Another Tragic Case

Saskia Lightburn Richie’s daughter her 30-year-old daughter passed away in May 2017, in what she called “the ultimate abusive action” in a prolonged pattern of mistreatment.

“She was energetic, she was caring,” she said. “She had great potential, and she was an amazing, really loving mother to her kids, and she died by suicide after 24 months in a relationship where she was systematically destroyed by her partner,” she said.

“She endured physical assaults, she was psychologically tortured, she was controlled and dismantled piece by piece until she could not see a path ahead. The man who caused this went unpunished, because we label it self-inflicted death, we close the file and we move on.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she said, “and I have not managed to move on. In truth, Hannah didn’t just die by suicide. She was killed. She was killed slowly and intentionally over a 24-month span, and when I went to the police, when I begged them to investigate what he had done to her, I was informed that there was no action that they could do.

“No inquiry was conducted into her death. The domestic homicide review, which I had to fight for, required five years and changed nothing. A four day inquest determined death by suicide, notwithstanding substantial proof over a extremely distressing four day period of domestic abuse and failings by multiple services.”

The parent informed the gathering that for a decade she has “been fighting a system that ignores what is right in front of it”.

She emphasized the self-inflicted death is murder campaign was critical “since when someone takes their own life after they’ve suffered family violence, we have to investigate it for what it truly represents, which is murder.

“We need to use the legislation we already possess properly and it really isn’t happening 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 prosecute. We need judges to understand that verbal abuse and manipulation can kill just as much as physical force and arms.”

Political Response

At a follow-up gathering in the Parliament, led by a opposition politician, and attended by the government official, the bereaved relatives again told their stories.

A junior minister informed the assembly: “Such fatalities are often dismissed as if they were their decision, they opted for this, when, reality, these were the result of in fact, somebody else’s violence, and these are not isolated stories.”

“Our law is broken, we know that,” she said. “Especially around homicide or manslaughter, it is piecemeal. It’s not written in statute regardless, it has been developed with common law practices for centuries, and it is outdated, honestly, given the society we currently live in.

“I will not claim that it’s going to be simple to resolve. It is extremely complicated and difficult, especially when you consider the issue of homicide, but we recognize that it needs to be looked at.”

Prosecution Service Statement

A spokesperson for the prosecution service commented: “Domestic abuse is a terrible crime and our legal officers are actively advised to consider homicide allegations in suicide cases where there is a established background of domestic abuse or other controlling or coercive behavior.

“We have previously charged a several individuals for leading to the fatality of a companion they mistreated, including in cases which are ongoing.

“We are also working with police and other parties to ensure these kinds of offences are clearly recognized – so that we can bring perpetrators accountable for the complete scope of their wrongdoings.”