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Each self-inflicted death where the victim had experienced domestic violence must be considered a possible murder case, according to demands from campaigners who seek to make perpetrators responsible for the catastrophic consequences of their actions.

This step is essential because law enforcement are not doing enough to hold offenders accountable in instances of self-inflicted death following family violence.

“In case after case, there is widespread breakdown, particularly within the legal system, to scrutinise these fatalities with the gravity they warrant,” stated a co-director of a advocacy organization at a significant gathering in Westminster earlier this week.

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

Personal Stories of Loss

Sharon Holland experienced the death of her child her 23-year-old daughter in March 2023. Before her death, Chloe had informed her former partner to police, submitting a lengthy recorded statement as proof against him.

Following her passing, the individual was found guilty of manipulative and domineering conduct and imprisoned for 41 months. He was subsequently 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 mother chose to advocate for a new law to bring perpetrators to justice; yet she then discovered that laws were existing, they just were rarely applied to secure prosecutions.

“I decided it wasn’t a fresh legislation I needed as current statutes were in place, and after finding out how much my daughter had been failed previous to her taking her life by the authorities and many other agencies, they needed to do their job properly, and practices required reform,” she explained.

“Over 47 families have contacted me and only four of us have had a conviction,” she added. “I was so shocked to see so many families who have been battling the authorities and prosecution service for years and getting no justice for their offspring or brother or sister 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 died in May 2017, in what she called “the ultimate abusive action” in a campaign of abuse.

“She was energetic, she was loving,” she stated. “She had great potential, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mum to her two children, and she died by suicide after two years in a relationship where she was systematically destroyed by her partner,” she explained.

“She was physically beaten, she was psychologically tortured, she was dominated and broken down gradually until she was unable to envision a way forward. The man who caused this walked free, because we label it suicide, we conclude the case and we move on.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she said, “and I have not managed to let go. Honestly, she did not merely take her own life. She was murdered. Her death was gradual and deliberately over a two year period, and when I approached the authorities, when I begged them to investigate what he had inflicted upon her, I was informed that there was no action that they were able to take.

“There was no investigation into her passing. The domestic homicide review, which I had to struggle to obtain, took five years and changed nothing. A four day inquest found self-inflicted death, notwithstanding substantial proof over a very traumatic multi-day session of family violence and failings by multiple services.”

The parent informed the gathering that for a decade she has “been fighting a establishment that refuses to see what is right in front of it”.

She said the suicide is homicide movement was vital “because when someone takes their own life after they’ve suffered domestic abuse, we have to investigate it for what it truly represents, which is murder.

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

“The statutes exist. We require determination, we need law enforcement to conduct thorough inquiries. We need the Crown Prosecution Service to take legal action. We need judges to understand that verbal abuse and manipulation can cause death just as much as physical force and arms.”

Government Reaction

At a follow-up gathering in the Parliament, led by a opposition politician, and including the safeguarding minister, the bereaved relatives again told their stories.

A junior minister told the meeting: “These deaths are often dismissed as if they were their own choice, they chose to do this, when, reality, these were the result of in fact, another person’s abuse, and these aren’t isolated stories.”

“The legal system is flawed, we know that,” she stated. “Especially around murder or unlawful killing, it is fragmented. It lacks statutory basis regardless, it has been shaped with traditional legal customs for generations, and it is outdated, honestly, given the society we currently live in.

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

Legal Authority Comment

A spokesperson for the prosecution service commented: “Family violence is a terrible crime and our legal officers are regularly instructed to consider homicide allegations in suicide cases where there is a established background of family violence or other manipulative conduct.

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

“We are collaborating with police and other stakeholders to guarantee these kinds of offences are clearly recognized – so that we can hold offenders accountable for the full extent of their crimes.”