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Every suicide where the deceased had endured abuse at home must be treated as a potential murder case, according to demands from advocates who aim to make perpetrators accountable for the catastrophic impact of their actions.

This step is essential because law enforcement are failing to hold offenders to justice in instances of suicide after family violence.

“Time and again, there is widespread breakdown, especially within the criminal justice system, to scrutinise these fatalities with the gravity they deserve,” remarked a co-director of a advocacy organization during a landmark meeting in London recently.

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

Personal Stories of Tragedy

One mother lost her daughter her 23-year-old daughter in spring 2023. Prior to her passing, Chloe had reported her former partner to authorities, providing a lengthy recorded statement as evidence against him.

Following her passing, the perpetrator was found guilty of manipulative and domineering conduct and imprisoned for 41 months. He was later jailed for an additional term after a second woman came forward to report that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.

In the wake of her loss, the parent decided to campaign for a new law to hold offenders to justice; yet she then realized that regulations were already in place, they just were rarely applied to secure prosecutions.

“I concluded it wasn’t a new law I required as existing laws were already there, and after finding out how much my child had been failed previous to her death by the authorities and numerous services, they had to fulfill their duties, and practices required reform,” she said.

“Over 47 families have contacted me and just a handful of us have had a guilty verdict,” she added. “I was astonished to see such a large number who have been fighting the police and CPS for a long time and getting no justice for their child or sibling and didn’t have a voice in case it impacted investigations that were not progressing.”

Another Tragic Case

One mother’s daughter her 30-year-old daughter died in spring 2017, in what she described as “the ultimate abusive action” in a campaign of abuse.

“She was energetic, she was caring,” she said. “She was full of promise, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted 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 endured physical assaults, she was mentally tormented, she was controlled and dismantled piece by piece until she was unable to envision a way forward. The individual who did this to her walked free, because we call it suicide, we conclude the case and we proceed.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she said, “and I haven’t been able to move on. Honestly, she didn’t just die by suicide. She was killed. Her death was gradual and deliberately over a 24-month span, and when I went to the police, when I pleaded with them to look into what he had done to her, I was told that there was nothing that they could do.

“There was no investigation into her passing. The domestic homicide review, which I had to fight for, required five years and changed nothing. A lengthy coroner’s hearing determined death by suicide, despite huge evidence over a extremely distressing four day period of family violence and shortcomings by multiple services.”

The mother informed the gathering that for a decade she has “been fighting a establishment that refuses to see what is right in front of it”.

She said the suicide is homicide movement was vital “since when an individual dies by suicide after they’ve endured domestic abuse, we have to investigate it for what it really is, which is homicide.

“We must use the legislation we currently have effectively and it really isn’t happening at the present, and we need to hold abusers accountable for driving their victims to death.

“The statutes exist. We require determination, we need police to conduct thorough inquiries. We need the prosecution authority to prosecute. We need the judiciary to recognize that verbal abuse and manipulation can cause death just as much as physical force and arms.”

Government Reaction

At a second meeting in the Parliament, led by a opposition politician, and attended by the safeguarding minister, the grieving families again shared their experiences.

A parliamentary under-secretary told the meeting: “These deaths are often dismissed as if they were their decision, they chose to do this, when, in truth, these were the result of actually, somebody else’s violence, and these aren’t rare incidents.”

“The legal system is flawed, we are aware,” she stated. “Especially around homicide or manslaughter, it is piecemeal. It lacks statutory basis anyway, it has been developed with common law practices for centuries, and it is no longer fit for purpose, honestly, it’s the world we inhabit today.

“I will not claim that it’s going to be easy to resolve. It is incredibly complex and difficult, particularly when you consider the matter of homicide, but we recognize that it needs to be looked at.”

Legal Authority Comment

A representative for the prosecution service commented: “Family violence is a heinous offense and our legal officers are actively advised to consider homicide allegations in suicide cases where there is a established background of family violence or other manipulative conduct.

“We have in the past prosecuted a several individuals for causing the death of a partner they abused, including in proceedings which are currently active.

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