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Each self-inflicted death in which the victim had experienced domestic violence should be considered a possible murder case, as per calls from advocates who seek to hold abusers responsible for the devastating consequences of their behavior.

This step is essential because police and prosecutors are not doing enough to hold offenders to justice in cases of suicide following domestic abuse.

“Time and again, there is systemic and structural failure, particularly within the criminal justice system, to examine these deaths with the gravity they warrant,” remarked a co-director of a advocacy organization at a landmark gathering in London recently.

The assembly, organized by a group running a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” campaign to fight for change in the criminal justice system, brought together families who had lost loved ones to suicide after family violence.

Personal Stories of Loss

Sharon Holland lost her daughter her 23-year-old daughter in spring 2023. Prior to her passing, the young woman had informed her former partner to authorities, submitting a lengthy recorded statement as proof about his conduct.

After her death, the individual was convicted of coercive and controlling behavior and imprisoned for over three years. He was later sentenced for an additional term 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 legal change to bring perpetrators accountable; yet she then discovered that regulations were existing, they just weren’t often being used to secure prosecutions.

“I concluded it was not a new law I needed as existing laws were in place, and after learning how much my daughter had been let down before her taking her life by the police and many other agencies, they had to do their job properly, and things needed to change,” she said.

“Over 47 families have contacted me and only four of us have had a conviction,” she continued. “I was so shocked to see so many families who have been battling the authorities and CPS for years and getting no justice for their offspring or sibling and could not speak out in case it impacted investigations that were not progressing.”

Further Heartbreaking Account

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

“Hannah was energetic, she was caring,” she said. “She was full of promise, and she was an amazing, really loving mother to her two children, and she took her own life after two years in a relationship where she was systematically destroyed by her companion,” she said.

“She was physically beaten, she was psychologically tortured, she was dominated and dismantled 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.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she remarked, “and I haven’t been able to let go. In truth, she did not merely take her own life. She was murdered. She was killed slowly and intentionally 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 no action that they could do.

“No inquiry was conducted into her death. The domestic violence fatality analysis, which I had to fight for, took five years and had no impact. A lengthy coroner’s hearing determined death by suicide, despite substantial proof over a very traumatic multi-day session of family violence and failings by multiple services.”

The parent informed the gathering that for eight years she has “been fighting a establishment that refuses to see what is obvious”.

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

“We need to apply the laws we already possess effectively and it is not occurring at the moment, and we need to make perpetrators responsible 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 the judiciary 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 House of Commons, led by a opposition politician, and attended by the safeguarding minister, the grieving families again told their stories.

A parliamentary under-secretary informed the assembly: “Such fatalities are often written off as if they were their decision, they opted for this, when, in truth, these were the culmination of in fact, somebody else’s violence, and these are not rare incidents.”

“The legal system is flawed, we are aware,” she stated. “Especially around murder or manslaughter, it is piecemeal. It lacks statutory basis regardless, it has been shaped with common law practices for generations, and it is outdated, quite frankly, given the society we currently live in.

“I’m not going to pretend that it’s going to be easy to resolve. It is incredibly complex and difficult, especially when you look at the issue of murder, but we acknowledge that it requires examination.”

Legal Authority Comment

A representative for the legal body said: “Domestic abuse is a heinous crime and our prosecutors are actively advised to evaluate murder and manslaughter charges in suicide cases where there is a known context of family violence or other manipulative conduct.

“We have in the past prosecuted a number of defendants for causing the death of a companion they mistreated, including in cases which are currently active.

“We are collaborating with law enforcement and other stakeholders to ensure these kinds of offences are clearly recognized – so that we can hold offenders to justice for the complete scope of their wrongdoings.”