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Each self-inflicted death in which the deceased had experienced domestic violence should be considered a possible murder case, according to demands from campaigners who seek to make perpetrators accountable for the devastating consequences of their actions.

This move is essential because police and prosecutors are not doing enough to bring perpetrators to justice in instances of self-inflicted death after domestic abuse.

“Time and again, there is widespread breakdown, particularly within the legal system, to scrutinise these deaths with the gravity they warrant,” remarked a leader of a advocacy organization during a landmark meeting in Westminster earlier this week.

The assembly, organized by a group leading a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” campaign to fight for change in the legal framework, united relatives who had suffered bereavement to suicide after domestic abuse.

Personal Stories of Loss

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

After her death, the perpetrator was convicted of coercive and controlling behavior and imprisoned for 41 months. He was later jailed for three years and seven months after a second woman stepped up to disclose that she had been in a violent and abusive relationship with him.

After Chloe’s death, the parent chose to advocate for a legal change to bring perpetrators accountable; however she then discovered that regulations were already in place, they just were rarely applied to achieve convictions.

“I decided it was not a new law I required as existing laws were already there, and after finding out how much my daughter had been let down previous to her taking her life by the police and numerous services, they needed to fulfill their duties, and things needed to change,” she explained.

“More than four dozen relatives have found me and only four of us have had a conviction,” she added. “I was so shocked to see such a large number who have been fighting the police and prosecution service for years and receiving no resolution for their offspring 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 described as “the final act of violence” in a campaign of abuse.

“She 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 partner,” she said.

“She endured physical assaults, she was psychologically tortured, she was dominated and broken down gradually until she could not see a path ahead. The man who did this to her walked free, because we call it self-inflicted death, we close the file and we move on.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she remarked, “and I have not managed to let go. Honestly, she didn’t just die by suicide. She was murdered. Her death was gradual and intentionally 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 told that there was no action that they could do.

“There was no investigation into her passing. The domestic violence fatality analysis, which I had to fight for, required five years and changed nothing. A four day inquest determined self-inflicted death, notwithstanding huge evidence over a very traumatic multi-day session of domestic abuse and failings by multiple services.”

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

She said the self-inflicted death is murder movement was critical “because when an individual takes their own life after they’ve suffered family violence, we have to investigate it for what it really is, which is homicide.

“We need to use the legislation we already possess properly and it really isn’t happening at the moment, and we need to make perpetrators responsible for pushing their targets to suicide.

“The statutes exist. We need the will, we need police to investigate properly. We need the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute. We need the judiciary to recognize that verbal abuse and manipulation can kill equally to hands and weapons.”

Government Reaction

At a second meeting in the Parliament, chaired by a opposition politician, and including the government official, the grieving families again told their stories.

A junior minister informed the assembly: “Such fatalities are often dismissed as if they were their decision, they chose to do this, when, reality, these were the result of actually, somebody else’s violence, and these aren’t rare incidents.”

“The legal system is flawed, we know that,” she said. “Particularly around murder or unlawful killing, it is piecemeal. It’s not written in statute regardless, it has been shaped with common law practices for generations, and it is outdated, honestly, it’s the world we inhabit today.

“I will not claim that it’s going to be easy to resolve. It is extremely complicated and difficult, particularly when you look at the matter of murder, but we acknowledge that it requires examination.”

Legal Authority Comment

A representative for the prosecution service said: “Domestic abuse is a terrible offense and our legal officers are actively advised to evaluate homicide allegations in suicide cases where there is a known context of family violence or other manipulative conduct.

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

“We are also working with law enforcement and other stakeholders to ensure these types of crimes are clearly recognized – so that we can bring perpetrators to justice for the complete scope of their crimes.”