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Each self-inflicted death in which the victim had experienced domestic violence must be treated as a possible homicide, as per demands from advocates who seek to hold abusers accountable for the catastrophic consequences of their behavior.

This move is necessary because law enforcement are failing to hold offenders accountable in cases of suicide after family violence.

“In case after case, there is systemic and structural failure, particularly within the criminal justice system, to scrutinise these deaths with the gravity they warrant,” remarked a leader of a advocacy organization during a landmark gathering in London earlier this week.

The assembly, arranged by a group running a “Suicide is Homicide” initiative to advocate for reform in the criminal justice system, brought together relatives who had lost loved ones to suicide following domestic abuse.

Personal Stories of Tragedy

Sharon Holland experienced the death of her child Chloe Holland in March 2023. Before her death, Chloe had informed her ex-boyfriend to police, submitting a two-hour video interview as evidence against him.

Following her passing, the perpetrator was found guilty of manipulative and domineering conduct and jailed for 41 months. He was subsequently sentenced for three years and seven months after a another victim stepped up to report that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.

In the wake of her loss, the parent chose to advocate for a legal change to bring perpetrators accountable; yet she then realized that regulations were already in place, they just weren’t often being used to secure prosecutions.

“I decided it wasn’t a fresh legislation I required as current statutes were in place, and after learning how much my child had been let down before her death by the authorities and numerous services, they needed to fulfill their duties, and practices required reform,” she explained.

“Over 47 families have found me and only four of us have had a guilty verdict,” she continued. “I was so shocked to see such a large number who have been fighting the police and CPS for years and receiving no resolution for their child or brother or sister and didn’t have a voice in case it impacted investigations that were not progressing.”

Another Tragic Case

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

“Hannah was vibrant, she was caring,” she said. “She had great potential, and she was an exceptional, really loving mum to her two children, and she died by suicide after two years in a relationship where she was methodically broken down by her partner,” she said.

“She was physically beaten, she was psychologically tortured, she was controlled and dismantled gradually until she was unable to envision a way forward. The individual 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 remarked, “and I haven’t been able to let go. Honestly, she didn’t just die by suicide. She was murdered. She was killed slowly and deliberately over a two year period, and when I approached the authorities, when I begged them to investigate what he had done to her, I was told that there was nothing that they could do.

“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, despite substantial proof 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 right in front of it”.

She emphasized the suicide is homicide movement was critical “since when an individual takes their own life after they’ve endured domestic abuse, we have to examine 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 moment, 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 prosecution authority to take legal action. We need judges to recognize that verbal abuse and manipulation can cause death equally to physical force and arms.”

Government Reaction

At a follow-up gathering in the House of Commons, led by a Labour MP, and including the government official, the grieving families again told their stories.

A parliamentary under-secretary told the meeting: “Such fatalities are often dismissed as if they were their decision, they chose to do this, when, reality, these were the result of in fact, another person’s abuse, and these are not rare incidents.”

“Our law is broken, we know that,” she stated. “Particularly around murder or unlawful killing, it is fragmented. It’s not written in statute anyway, it has been shaped with common law practices for centuries, and it is no longer fit for purpose, quite frankly, it’s the world we inhabit today.

“I’m not going to pretend that it’s going to be simple to fix. It is incredibly complex and challenging, especially when you look at the issue of homicide, but we acknowledge that it needs to be looked at.”

Prosecution Service Statement

A spokesperson for the legal body said: “Domestic abuse is a heinous offense and our prosecutors are regularly instructed to evaluate murder and manslaughter charges in suicide cases where there is a established background of domestic abuse 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 ongoing.

“We are also working with police and other stakeholders to ensure these kinds of offences are well-understood – so that we can hold offenders to justice for the complete scope of their wrongdoings.”