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

This step is necessary because law enforcement are not doing enough to bring perpetrators to justice in cases of suicide after family violence.

“In case after case, there is widespread breakdown, especially within the criminal justice system, to scrutinise these deaths with the seriousness they warrant,” stated a leader of a advocacy organization during a landmark meeting in Westminster recently.

The meeting, organized by a group running a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” campaign to fight for reform in the legal framework, brought together families who had lost loved ones to suicide after family violence.

Personal Stories of Loss

Sharon Holland experienced the death of her child Chloe Holland in March 2023. Prior to her passing, the young woman had informed her ex-boyfriend 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 over three years. He was subsequently jailed for three years and seven months after a second woman stepped up to report that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.

In the wake of her loss, the mother chose to advocate for a new law to bring perpetrators to justice; however she then realized that laws were already in place, they just weren’t often being used to secure prosecutions.

“I decided it wasn’t a fresh legislation I needed as current statutes were in place, and after learning how much my child had been let down previous to her taking her life by the authorities and numerous services, they needed to do their job properly, and practices required reform,” she said.

“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 authorities and prosecution service for years and getting no justice for their child or sibling and could not speak out in case it affected investigations that were not progressing.”

Further Heartbreaking Account

Saskia Lightburn Richie’s daughter Hannah passed away in spring 2017, in what she called “the final act of violence” in a prolonged pattern of mistreatment.

“Hannah was vibrant, she was loving,” she said. “She was full of promise, and she was an exceptional, really loving mum to her two children, and she died by suicide after two years in a partnership where she was systematically destroyed by her partner,” she said.

“She endured physical assaults, she was psychologically tortured, she was dominated and broken down gradually until she could not see a way forward. The man who caused this went unpunished, because we label it self-inflicted death, we conclude the case and we proceed.

“But I could not move on,” she said, “and I haven’t been able to let go. Honestly, Hannah 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 begged them to look into what he had inflicted upon her, I was informed that there was nothing that they were able to take.

“There was no investigation 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 determined self-inflicted death, notwithstanding huge evidence over a extremely distressing multi-day session of family violence and shortcomings by various agencies.”

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

She emphasized the self-inflicted death is murder movement was critical “because when an individual dies by suicide after they’ve suffered family violence, we have to investigate it for what it truly represents, which is homicide.

“We must apply the laws we currently have effectively and it is not occurring 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 investigate properly. We need the prosecution authority to prosecute. We need the judiciary to recognize that words and control can cause death just as much as hands and weapons.”

Political Response

At a follow-up gathering in the House of Commons, chaired by a Labour MP, and attended by the safeguarding minister, the bereaved relatives again shared their experiences.

A junior minister informed the assembly: “These deaths are often dismissed as if they were their decision, they opted for this, when, in truth, these were the result of in fact, another person’s abuse, and these aren’t isolated stories.”

“The legal system is flawed, we are aware,” she stated. “Especially around murder or manslaughter, it is fragmented. It’s not written in statute anyway, it has been shaped with common law practices for generations, and it is no longer fit for purpose, quite frankly, given the society we inhabit today.

“I’m not going to pretend that it’s going to be easy to resolve. It is extremely complicated and difficult, especially when you consider the issue of homicide, but we acknowledge that it requires examination.”

Prosecution Service Statement

A representative for the legal body commented: “Family violence is a terrible crime and our prosecutors are actively advised to evaluate homicide allegations in suicide cases where there is a established background of family violence or other controlling or coercive behavior.

“We have previously charged a number of defendants for leading to the fatality of a partner they mistreated, 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 complete scope of their wrongdoings.”