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Each self-inflicted death where the deceased had experienced domestic violence must be considered a possible homicide, as per calls from advocates who aim to make perpetrators accountable for the devastating consequences of their behavior.

This step is essential because police and prosecutors are not doing enough to bring perpetrators accountable in instances of suicide after domestic abuse.

“In case after case, there is widespread breakdown, particularly within the criminal justice system, to examine these deaths with the seriousness they deserve,” remarked a leader of a campaign group at a significant gathering in London earlier this week.

The meeting, organized by a organization leading a “Suicide is Homicide” campaign to fight for change in the legal framework, united families who had lost loved ones to self-inflicted death after family violence.

Personal Stories of Loss

One mother lost her daughter Chloe Holland in March 2023. Before her death, Chloe had reported her former partner to police, submitting a two-hour video interview as proof about his conduct.

After her death, the individual was convicted of manipulative and domineering conduct and imprisoned for 41 months. He was subsequently jailed for three years and seven months after a another victim came forward to report that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.

After Chloe’s death, the mother decided to campaign for a new law to hold offenders accountable; yet she then discovered that laws were already in place, they just were rarely applied to achieve convictions.

“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 previous to her death by the authorities and numerous services, they needed to do their job properly, and practices required reform,” she explained.

“More than four dozen relatives have contacted me and just a handful of us have had a guilty verdict,” she added. “I was so shocked to see so many families who have been battling the police and CPS for years and receiving no resolution for their child or sibling and didn’t have a voice in case it impacted investigations that weren’t possibly going anywhere.”

Another Tragic Case

Saskia Lightburn Richie’s daughter Hannah died in spring 2017, in what she described as “the ultimate abusive action” in a prolonged pattern of mistreatment.

“Hannah was vibrant, she was caring,” 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 partnership where she was methodically broken down by her companion,” she said.

“She endured physical assaults, she was psychologically tortured, she was dominated and broken down piece by piece until she was unable to envision a way forward. The man who did this to her walked free, because we label 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. Her death was gradual and intentionally over a two year period, and when I approached the authorities, when I pleaded with them to investigate what he had inflicted upon her, I was told that there was no action that they could do.

“There was no investigation into her death. The domestic homicide review, which I had to fight for, required five years and changed nothing. A lengthy coroner’s hearing determined self-inflicted death, notwithstanding huge evidence over a extremely distressing multi-day session of domestic abuse and failings by various agencies.”

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

She emphasized the suicide is homicide campaign was critical “since when an individual dies by suicide after they’ve endured family violence, we have to examine it for what it really is, which is murder.

“We must use the legislation we currently have properly and it is not occurring at the moment, and we need to make perpetrators responsible for pushing their targets to suicide.

“The statutes exist. We require determination, we need law enforcement to conduct thorough inquiries. We need the prosecution authority to prosecute. We need judges to recognize that words and control can kill just as much as physical force and arms.”

Government Reaction

At a second meeting in the Parliament, led by a Labour MP, and attended by the government official, the grieving families again told their stories.

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

“The legal system is flawed, we know that,” she said. “Especially around murder or manslaughter, it is piecemeal. It’s not written in statute anyway, it has been shaped with traditional legal customs for centuries, and it is outdated, quite frankly, it’s the world we currently live in.

“I will not claim that it’s going to be easy to resolve. It is extremely complicated and difficult, particularly when you consider the issue of homicide, 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 offense and our prosecutors are regularly instructed to evaluate homicide allegations in self-inflicted death instances where there is a established background of family violence or other controlling or coercive behavior.

“We have in the past prosecuted a several individuals for causing the death of a companion they abused, encompassing in cases which are currently active.

“We are also working with law enforcement 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.”