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Each self-inflicted death where the deceased had endured domestic violence must be treated as a possible murder case, as per calls from advocates who aim to hold abusers accountable for the devastating impact of their behavior.

This move is essential because law enforcement are not doing enough to hold offenders to justice in cases of suicide after family violence.

“In case after case, there is systemic and structural failure, particularly within the legal system, to examine these fatalities with the gravity they warrant,” stated a leader of a campaign group during a significant gathering in Westminster recently.

The meeting, organized by a group leading a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” initiative to advocate for change in the criminal justice system, united relatives who had suffered bereavement to suicide following family violence.

Personal Stories of Tragedy

One mother experienced the death of her child Chloe Holland in spring 2023. Prior to her passing, the young woman had informed her ex-boyfriend to authorities, submitting a lengthy recorded statement as evidence about his conduct.

After her death, the perpetrator was found guilty of manipulative and domineering conduct and jailed for over three years. He was subsequently sentenced for three years and seven months after a another victim came forward 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 new law to hold offenders accountable; however she then realized that laws 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 let down before her taking her life by the authorities and numerous services, they had to do their job properly, and practices needed to change,” she explained.

“More than four dozen relatives have found me and just a handful of us have had a guilty verdict,” she continued. “I was so shocked to see such a large number who have been battling the authorities and prosecution service for a long time and receiving no resolution for their offspring or sibling and could not speak out in case it impacted inquiries that were not progressing.”

Another Tragic Case

Saskia Lightburn Richie’s daughter her 30-year-old daughter died in spring 2017, in what she called “the ultimate abusive action” in a campaign of abuse.

“She was vibrant, she was loving,” she stated. “She had great potential, and she was an exceptional, deeply devoted mum to her kids, and she died by suicide after 24 months in a relationship where she was systematically destroyed by her companion,” she said.

“She was physically beaten, she was psychologically tortured, she was controlled and dismantled piece by piece until she could not see a way forward. The individual who caused this went unpunished, 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. In truth, she did not merely take her own life. She was murdered. Her death was gradual and intentionally over a 24-month span, and when I went to the police, when I begged them to investigate what he had done to her, I was informed that there was nothing that they were able to take.

“There was no investigation into her passing. The domestic homicide review, which I had to struggle to obtain, required five years and had no impact. A four day inquest found self-inflicted death, notwithstanding substantial proof over a extremely distressing four day period of domestic abuse and failings by multiple services.”

The parent told the meeting that for a decade she has “been fighting a system that ignores what is obvious”.

She said the self-inflicted death is murder movement was vital “because when someone dies by suicide after they’ve suffered domestic abuse, we have to examine it for what it truly represents, which is murder.

“We must use the legislation 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.

“The statutes exist. We need the will, we need police to investigate properly. We need the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute. We need judges to understand that verbal abuse and manipulation can cause death equally to physical force and arms.”

Political Response

At a follow-up gathering in the House of Commons, chaired by a Labour MP, and attended by the government official, the grieving families again shared their experiences.

A junior minister told the meeting: “These deaths are often written off as if they were their own choice, they chose to do this, when, in truth, these were the result of actually, somebody else’s violence, and these are not isolated stories.”

“Our law is broken, we know that,” she stated. “Especially around murder or manslaughter, it is fragmented. It lacks statutory basis anyway, it has been developed with common law practices for generations, and it is no longer fit for purpose, honestly, it’s the world we inhabit today.

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

Prosecution Service Statement

A spokesperson for the prosecution service commented: “Domestic abuse is a heinous crime and our legal officers are regularly instructed to evaluate murder and manslaughter charges in self-inflicted death instances 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 abused, encompassing in proceedings which are ongoing.

“We are collaborating with police and other stakeholders to ensure these types of crimes are well-understood – so that we can hold offenders accountable for the complete scope of their wrongdoings.”